The Gift of Serenity
by CanuckDaysfan
Summary: A Lumi fic. I started writing this fic in June 2004. At that point in time the dead were still dead, and will be remaining dead and Sami & Lucas didn't reconcile in July 2004. Their story picks up in August of that summer. First 25 chapters are up. Sorry for the long delay in updates. I am planning to finish this fic this month (May 2013).
1. Chapter 1

The Gift of Serenity  
by CanuckDaysfan  
Rated R/M (language, some mild sexual situations)  
Disclaimer: All characters except Ginny are © NBC/Sony/Corday Productions. 

--

Chapter One 

Sami trudged into her building, cursing as her tenuous hold on her groceries began to give way. "Dammit!"

"Here I've got it. You can let go now." Sami mentally groaned as she heard the familiar male voice. Of all the people she could have run into, he was the last one she wanted to see. More specifically, she didn't want him seeing her. Her car had broken down a few weeks ago and without the funds to repair it for at least another month she'd taken to walking everywhere. Will was off at camp and the only place she journeyed to on a regular basis was work. She really hadn't minded. It was summer in Salem and due to all of the exercise she'd already lost five pounds. With today being payday she'd stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items. About halfway home she'd been caught in a late afternoon thunderstorm. Thanks to the rain squall she was now soaking wet, looking for all intents and purposes like a drowned rat. Steeling her expression she let go of the bags, allowing him to take them.

"Looks like you got caught in one of our infamous Salem storms." He chuckled as he took the bags. "Which apartment –." He started to ask, but stopped dead in his tracks as he realized it was Sami. Lucas gulped as his gaze met hers. Even soaked to the skin she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Her blue eyes met his brown with a defiant glare.

"I can handle them." She muttered irritably as she reached to take the bags back from his grasp.

"You were about to drop them." He countered. "I'll carry them for you."

Sami shook her head in annoyance but put up no further protest, instead she angrily pushed the call button for the elevator.

Once outside her apartment she turned, unlocked her door, and looked at him expectantly. "Fine, you did your good deed for the day. Happy?"

Mumbling something about not having been happy in two months he bypassed her and pushed through the door into her apartment. Setting the bags down on the island countertop he turned and watched as she removed her rain-soaked jean jacket.

Sami noticed his stare and shot him an annoyed look. "What? Did I grow another head or something?"

"You cut your hair."

Sami rolled her eyes. "I did. Was I supposed to get your permission or something?"

"What –."

Brushing past him to her kitchen she muttered. "Don't flatter yourself General. I didn't do it because of you." Ripping open the soggy bags she began to unload groceries onto her countertop. Seeing his stunned gaze she paused, holding a can of beans midair and frowned. "Come on, it's not that short." Sure she'd had it cut, but only so it skimmed the top of her shoulders. _So why is he still staring at me like I've suddenly morphed into an alien?_

Lucas swallowed hard. Unnoticed by Sami the rain water had seeped from her hair into her pale pink cotton blouse, drenching it to the point of being translucent. Through it he could make out the generous curve of her creamy breasts. He felt his body harden at the memory of his mouth on her skin. Licking, touching, suckling and branding her his own. He stifled a groan as the memories washed across his consciousness. He could still taste her, feel her soft skin and hear her moans of contentment as they'd made love time and time again that one night. Shaking his head to ward off the unwelcome thoughts he fixed his gaze on the topic of discussion. "Why _did_ you cut your hair anyway? I thought you liked it long."

"I did, but it's been so freaking hot that I couldn't take it anymore. So, I chopped it."

"Hot?" Lucas asked. Sure it had been an unusually warm summer in Salem so far, but their building was air conditioned. "Turn on the air conditioner if you're hot."

"It's broken." She replied as she returned to the mundane task of putting her groceries away.

As though on autopilot Lucas moved to help; handing her item after item the two worked as a perfectly synched team. "Well call Mr. Mertz then. He'll fix it right away once he knows."

Sami looked at him skeptically. "Oh like he jumped to fix the hot water in your shower last fall?"

Lucas looked down, praying the heat he felt cover his skin wasn't evident to her. "Yeah, about that—."

Sami cocked an eyebrow. She'd always suspected that his shower hadn't been broken that long.

Not willing to give her the satisfaction of knowing that he'd kept it broken for a week before even notifying their landlord he covered. "Yeah, he had to order a part for it. That's why it took so long."

"Uh-huh." Sami replied, knowing full well that he was hiding the truth. "Well it doesn't matter now anyway does it? It's fixed and you're free to take your showers at your place." Then deciding that she'd had enough of his company for the night she put her hands on his back and began to steer him towards the door. "And since you're done here, you're free to leave."

Lucas wasn't ready to go. "No."

"No?"

"No. You didn't answer my question."

"What question?"

"I asked you if you'd called our landlord."

"No. You told me that I should call the landlord. You didn't ask me to. There's a difference." Sami knew what he'd meant and she knew that she was probably annoying him, but his presence was disturbing her more than she cared to admit and she needed him to leave.

"Fine. Whatever. Call him."

"I can't." Sami argued.

"Why not?"

Growing ever impatient with him she tried again to hurry him to the door. "Look Lucas. I can't call him, because if I call him he's going to ask where this month's rent check is."

"So?"

"So, I'm behind on the rent, and I'll be behind for at least another two weeks."

"What?" Lucas asked incredulously. He knew that Sami didn't make a whole lot of money at Basic Black, but it had always covered her basic expenses. "What the hell happened? Did you go shopping and spend your rent on clothes or something?"

"You would think that. Really Lucas, if you want to know where the money went, ask your mother." Sami frowned as she turned away from him. She really didn't want to be having this conversation with him. Sure things had been tight money wise lately thanks to Kate, but with Will off at camp she had just enough to scrape by. _Just enough, except that my rent is overdue and my car's broken. _ Wanting to distract him before he questioned her on her Kate comment she did her best to deflect his attention. "Look, this is none of your business. Just go." Twirling around to look at him again she mocked. "Don't you have a date waiting for you anyway? I'd hate for you to keep one of your little bimbos waiting."

"Jealous baby?" Lucas whispered lowly as he quickly closed the gap between them.

Sami scoffed, her eyes darting everywhere but up to his. "There's nothing to be jealous of."

Lucas opened his mouth to argue but at the last second decided to let it drop. They'd been having this very conversation over and over again for the past two months. Shaking his head at himself he let her push him through her open doorway. As the door closed behind him he paused in the hallway, shutting his eyes as he leaned against the wall. _Damn it, every time I think I'm free she reels me back. _ Taking a deep breath he pushed himself off the wall and sauntered back to his place. She'd mentioned his mother being the cause of her money woes. Whatever feelings, good or bad that he currently held for Sami, she was, if nothing else, the mother of his son. And he wasn't about to let her get herself kicked out of her apartment.

Sami grumbled, as she flopped down on her sofa. _Damn him. How does he do that? _ She really didn't want him knowing about what had happened at Basic Black. Two months ago she would have told him right away, but her pride now prevented that from being an option. _Besides, things will be better in a few weeks. _She glanced at her watch. _Damn, I'd better shower and get ready if I want to get there on time._

Lucas hung up his phone, frowning. His mother's answer had been vague. He knew she was covering for something. He shook his head irritably as he headed for the shower. There wasn't much he could do tonight about Kate and Sami. Sami had been correct in her assumption that he had a date. He did have one and he was due to pick her up in an hour. As the first stream of hot water hit him he made a silent vow. _Tomorrow I'll find out what the hell happened at Basic Black. _

"Oh what now!" Sami yelled to no one as she came flying out of her bedroom in her robe to the sound of the ringing phone. "Hello?" Silence. "Hello? Anyone there?" Hanging up the receiver in frustration she muttered. "Damn prank calls." Returning to her room she quickly stripped off her robe and dressed for the evening. Checking her hair and makeup one last time, she grabbed her purse and slipped on her strappy heels. Knowing she'd regret her footwear choice when she had to walk home in the middle of the night she simply shrugged her shoulders. Some things were worth the pain.

Lucas hung up the phone in confusion. He'd almost been out the door when it had started ringing. Worried that it might be his date calling to cancel he backtracked and picked it up. There'd been no one on the other end and the call display had shown the call as blocked. Shrugging his shoulders, he wrote it off as a wrong number as he grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

In a hotel lobby in Chicago a young woman turned her cell phone off as she studied the addresses on two pages in the Salem listings. S. Brady was at #32, 100 Guilford Street and L. Roberts was at #34 in the same building. She hadn't been expecting that. She hadn't even been sure if they were both still in Salem. _They're in Salem, living side by side. This might just work out perfectly._ She smiled as she contemplated what she was about to do.

"Did you manage to contact your friends Miss?"

She smiled at the hotel clerk. "I sure did. Now, I can't go to them for a few more days. I have a few things to wrap up in Chicago first."

"No problem. We have your room ready. Just give me a moment to get your key."

She smiled again. Things were going to work out okay. She could feel it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Lucas opened the passenger door and held his arm out for Brandy or was it Sherry? His lips twitched. He knew her name was an alcoholic drink of some sort. She was a bit taller than him, a model with short red hair. She was, in every way, the opposite of Sami. He sighed. And that was the problem. He and Sami were over, at least that's what they claimed, but it didn't keep him from comparing every single woman to her. _And each and every one of them fails miserably in that comparison._ He knew that his feelings were normal. They'd only decided to call it quits two months earlier. _Well technically, you called it quits. Sami never agreed._ _Face it Lucas. It's going to be a very long time before you meet someone who doesn't make you wish she were Sami. _He sighed again, causing his date to look at him with alarm as they strolled towards the entrance of the restaurant.

"Are you okay Lucas? You've been awfully quiet so far tonight."

Lucas mentally chastised himself. He hadn't meant to ignore – his mind searched again for her name. "I'm sorry. I've just been a little distracted today, that's all."

She smiled knowingly. Kate Roberts had warned her that this might happen. She smiled wryly as she remembered her employer's words of advice. "He's getting over a broken heart so you'll have to be patient. But believe me, if you hang in there, he's worth the time and effort." She'd never met Lucas before tonight, but she'd seen Rex around Salem University when he'd been attending and figured if his brother was anywhere as good looking and charming as them, then there'd be no problem. She hadn't been disappointed so far.

He'd shown up at her place in his black BMW. They'd attended a Shakespeare play in the park at her suggestion before heading for a late dinner at a relatively new restaurant called _Outer Limits_ on the outskirts of Salem. So far he'd been a perfect, if somewhat distracted, gentleman. She could see the pain in his eyes and wanted nothing more than to be the one who chased that pain away.

Reaching the entrance Lucas took a deep breath and opened the door. _Here we go. Try not to look like you're suffering the whole time._ Willing himself to be the playful, charming bachelor from his younger days he escorted his date inside. The hostess seated them and told them that their waitress "Samantha" would be along in just a moment. Lucas had nearly jumped out of his skin at the name. Convincing himself that he was being ridiculous he settled down and tried hard to concentrate on his date's words. He opened his mouth to reply to something she'd said just as he heard someone approach from behind.

He watched as his date's eyes widened at the sight of their waitress. She broke into a grin. "Sami!"

"Ginny!" _Gin! Of course! _He banked her name for future reference just as he realized whose voice had just uttered that name. Whipping his head around he looked up to see a smiling Sami Brady.

The smile faded from Sami's face as she realized who Ginny's date for the evening was. "Lucas! What are you doing here?" Smiling thinly she added. "I didn't realize that you and Ginny knew each other."

"We didn't." Ginny quipped. "Not until tonight that is. Kate Roberts set us up."

"Really?" Sami bit her lip to keep from scowling. Lucas finding dates on his own was one thing, but to know that Kate was actively trying to find him a new woman was almost more than she could handle today.

"Sami what are you doing here? When did you start working a second job?"

"I asked you first Lucas." Sami replied, suddenly wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

"It's like Ginny said. We're on a blind date. We just finished watching _Twelfth Night_ in the park.

Sami winced. She'd heard about the Shakespeare festival in the park months ago and had just assumed that she and Lucas would be spending some romantic summer evenings taking in the plays. _Well what did you expect? You did push him away. It could have been you. Hell it should be you sitting there with him. It still can be you Sami. You know that. _She scowled in annoyance. The little voices in her head could be downright irritating sometimes, especially when they happened to be right.

Lucas watched the myriad of emotions cross her face. "You still haven't answered my question. "When did you start working here?"

"Two weeks ago. It's just part time, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings." She replied, trying her best to regain her composure. As much as she wanted to tear Lucas away from Ginny, she couldn't afford to do anything that would cause her to lose this job.

"So. Have you had enough time to look at the menus?" Sami was anxious to take their orders and get the hell out of there as fast as possible.

"I'm ready." Ginny smiled. Sami couldn't help but smile back. Unlike most of the models at Basic Black Ginny was actually genuine and friendly. She'd introduced herself to Sami the day she'd started and despite the fact that Sami was only, as Kate put it, "a lowly intern" Ginny still popped in her basement office on a regular basis to say hi.

Lucas nodded his head. He was ready too. Sami quickly wrote down their requests and high-tailed it to the kitchen. As the door swung shut behind her she took a deep breath. She'd purposely picked this restaurant to work at, figuring that it wasn't flashy enough to be Lucas' style. _It just figures. Just when I think I'm free of him, there he is. _She shook her head ruefully. _Why are you surprised Sami? It's always been this way._ Sighing again, she put their order in the kitchen and then headed back out to check on her other tables, knowing that she was in for a long evening.

"Long evening indeed." She complained out loud to herself as she finally tore her apron off and counted her tips. "Well at least I took in a lot tonight. Four or five more nights like this and I'll be able to catch up with my rent payments. And another ten after that I might be able to get the car going." She groaned as she thought about her lack of car. The biggest disadvantage to working this far from the center of Salem was that now she was stuck with having to walk home at 2 in the morning. She looked down at her shoes, her glamorous, yet very impractical footwear. "Yeah, smart move Sami."

She gathered her jacket and purse from the back and headed out the door. Gazing up at the starry sky she thought back to her unusual evening. Despite what she'd feared, she'd managed to control her jealousy at seeing Lucas and Ginny on a date. There was no doubt that she was jealous. And if the woman hadn't been someone that she already knew and liked, Sami probably would have drawn blood. Still, she'd kept a pretty close eye on them and although Ginny seemed to be having a wonderful time Sami could tell that Lucas wasn't. His eyes had strayed to hers on more than one occasion and every time she'd walked past their table she'd felt his chocolate gaze burning into her back. The thought brought a small smile to her face.

Lucas pulled his car into his parking stall and moved to open the door, stopping as he noticed Sami's car still parked, unmoved since earlier. Thinking back, he realized that she'd been walking home with her groceries earlier. "Dammit Sami, don't tell me you're walking home from Outer Limits." His decision made in an instant, he restarted his car and backed up. Retracing the path he'd taken with Ginny earlier he headed back towards the restaurant.

Sami glanced up as the headlights flashed in front of her. Recognizing the distinct and so very familiar sound of his car engine she paused. _I should have known. He's always here._ Wordlessly she opened the passenger door and climbed in beside him.

Lucas pulled a U-turn and headed back to their building. Neither uttered a word as he drove. He glanced at her, angry that she'd make herself vulnerable to danger. She looked back at him, annoyed that he knew her well enough to come to her rescue and at the same time grateful that he'd saved her from a long, painful and potentially dangerous walk. As they reached his parking stall Sami's hand flew to the door handle. "Thank you." She said softly before climbing out of the car and literally running into the building.

Lucas laid his head against his steering wheel in frustration. He loved her, of that he had no doubt. He'd always love her. That too he knew for sure. He suspected with almost 100 certainty that his feelings were returned. Still, after all these weeks he couldn't figure out what was keeping her from giving their love a chance. He was at a loss. He wanted to be with her, but was finally coming to the realization that it just might not be possible.

Lifting his head, the solution became clear. Pulling out his cell phone he made a quick call. "Hi. It's Lucas. I had a great time tonight. How about an encore tomorrow?" Satisfied with the response he closed the phone, shutting it off. Ginny wasn't anything like Sami and at the moment that sounded like the best thing in the world to him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Lucas tapped on Kate's office door, waiting for her to acknowledge him. He'd called her earlier and she'd mentioned that she'd be at Basic Black for most of Saturday. Determined to find out why Sami was suddenly so strapped for cash, he'd driven to the office to talk to his mom. "Come in." At the sound of her voice Lucas opened the door and stepped inside.

"Lucas darling. How wonderful to see you so early. I thought you'd still be sleeping after your date with Ginny." Kate smiled at her middle son. "So tell me. How did things go? Did you have a good time?"

"It was fine. We have another date tonight." Lucas replied, anxious to move to his choice of subject.

"I _knew_ you two would hit it off. That's wonderful!" Kate exclaimed. "So tell me all about it. What did you do? Where did you take her?"

"Mom, that's not why I came here," Lucas protested irritably. His mother meant well, but he wasn't here to discuss his love life.

"Oh. Well I just assumed—."

"Well you assumed wrong. I'm here to talk about Sami."

"Good lord Lucas! Why must you always bring that woman up? Hasn't she broken your heart enough times already?"

Lucas put his hands up in surrender. "I'm not talking about her in that context." Waiting for Kate to calm a bit, he continued. "Mom, Sami's having trouble paying her rent and from what I gather she can't afford to have her car repaired either. She's taken a second job—."

"She's moonlighting? Well, that goes against Basic Black policy."

"Stop it Mom!" Lucas shouted, desperately trying to avoid another anti-Sami tirade. "I just want to know why she's suddenly having problems."

"Well what did she say?" Kate asked defensively.

"She told me to ask you before she shooed me away. So what's the story? What did you do to her?"

"There is no story Lucas. John and I simply decided that it was time to enforce company policy with her. Sami's attendance record has been atrocious. She missed day after day of work while we continued to pay her. Since she's only an intern she doesn't actually qualify for any benefits, so I had payroll begin to deduct money off of each check to make up for it."

"Both of her parents died!"

"Yes and we generously allowed her a paid week off for each death."

Lucas stared at his mother incredulously. "Mom! She's Will's mother, not to mention John' s stepdaughter and Roman's daughter! How the hell could you do that to her!"

"Lucas you know we don't support nepotism here at Basic Black." Kate replied, in a desperate attempt to keep him calm.

"Are you kidding me? What the hell do you call Belle and Phillip's positions as heads of the Basic Black Charity Foundation?" He screamed, growing angrier by the minute.

"That's different—." Kate argued.

"Different how? Different because they're not Sami?" Lucas sneered, suddenly having a greater understanding and sympathy for what Sami put up with every day. "So tell me Mom, does John know you've done this to her?"

Kate looked away from his deep dark gaze, knowing he could sense her lies. "Of course he knows."

"Oh so then you won't mind if I go and have a chat with him." Lucas snapped back.

Kate paled. "Lucas—."

"Don't _Lucas_ me." He spit out. "You're always going on and on about how evil and cruel Sami is. How could you do this to her? How could you do this to your grandson?"

"I waited until Will was away at camp. This will have no effect on him."

"Are you nuts? Of course it will affect him. Sami's had to drain her meager savings just to make ends meet. And now she's working two jobs, her car's broken and she's forced to walk home along a dangerous road in the middle of the night."

"No one made her take a second job."

"You don't get it do you? You forced her into this!"

"Well honestly Lucas, if something was to happen to Sami I really think it would be for the best. You and Will would finally be free of her."

Lucas felt the blood drain out of his face at the chilled tone of his mother's voice. At that moment he knew without a doubt that his mother would go to any lengths to keep Sami away from him. "You won't be happy 'til she's completely destroyed!"

"Lucas. I'm doing this for you and Will. You'll be much better off without her."

With tears shining in his eyes Lucas started at his mother in disbelief. "How can you say that? I _love _her. Will _loves_ her. Don't you think that destroying Sami would hurt us?"

"Well I know you'd be in pain at first, but in the long run—."

"Stop." Lucas backed up, shaking his head and holding up his hands. "Just stop Mom."

"Lucas. Darling…" Kate trailed off as she realized that he was steadily retreating from her. "Darling, you know I'm just doing this because you mean everything to me."

"That's it. I didn't want to do this Mom, but you've given me no choice."

"What are you saying?" Kate squeaked as she suddenly found herself nearly voiceless.

"When Sami and I were together I warned you not to make me choose." Lucas growled.

Kate flinched at the implied threat in his tone. "But Lucas, you're not together now. There is no choice to make."

"Don't be too sure about that!" He threatened as he left her office, letting the door slam shut behind him.

"What's with the door slamming?" John asked as he opened the door to his office and spotted Lucas in the reception area. "Lucas!"

"John." Lucas nodded and was about to head for the elevator when he stopped in his tracks. Turning quickly he caught John just as he was returning to his office. "John do you have a minute?"

John nodded and motioned for Lucas to follow. Kate's door opened a second after John's closed on the two men. Seeing the area empty Kate let out a sigh of relief. She'd been expecting John at any minute and the last thing she wanted was for Lucas to run into him.

Sami groaned as the morning light crept through her window. Glancing at her alarm clock she let out a soft expletive. She hadn't meant to sleep so late. She wasn't surprised that she had slept in though. It had taken her forever to fall asleep last night after she'd left Lucas' car. She hadn't even thought to ask him how he knew to pick her up. The truth was, she didn't need to ask. He was always there. Even when she pushed him away, fate had a way of pushing him right back to her. As she stretched across her bed she couldn't help but notice its emptiness. Though she and Lucas had stopped spending time together two months previous she still missed waking up next to him. They'd been physically intimate only on that one night in April, but both before and after that night they'd spent time together in her bed. Usually it was him holding her, comforting her. She hated to admit it, but she'd grown to rely on his presence in her bed, in her life, in her heart. _My heart, my stupid heart that always gets me into trouble. _Shaking off the memories she climbed out of bed, wincing slightly at the stiffness in her legs and back. "I guess walking to work in those heels really wasn't a good idea." Making a mental note to wear her running shoes and carry her sandals in her backpack when she went to the restaurant today she headed to the shower, hoping that it's hot water would take away some of her pain.

In Chicago a young woman sat in the office of the city's finest private investigation firm. "I know it's early, but did you manage to get any information on them yet?"

The man nodded. "It was easy once you confirmed the addresses. I contacted my counterpart in Salem and it turns out he already had some files on the young lady."

"Probably thanks to Kate Roberts." The woman mumbled, remembering the letters she'd received from various friends in town after she'd moved away from Salem.

"What?"

"Never mind." She replied. "So what did you find out?"

"Well, Samantha Brady works at a company called _Basic Black_. She also appears to have just started a second job at a new restaurant called _Outer Limits_. She has a son, William Roberts and she shares custody of him with Lucas Roberts, the boy's father."

"So they finally worked out custody. I'm glad." The woman smiled. That had been her main concern.

"Are they seeing anyone?"

"Well from what I can gather, and keep in mind that we're still investigating, it looks like they were together as a couple until very recently.

"Sami and Lucas were a couple?" Again the news made her smile. "You said until recently. What happened?"

"We haven't figured that out yet. It looks like bad writing."

"Excuse me?" She asked, confused by his comment. "Bad writing?"

"Oh I'm sorry, that came out wrong. I meant to say that the handwriting on this fax from Salem is bad. There is something scribbled there, but I can't quite make it out."

"May I?" She motioned to the paper. The P.I. turned it over to her. "Oh it says Kate." The woman bit her lip thoughtfully. She'd been hoping that Kate and Sami's vendetta against one another was over, but reading Kate's name sent a shiver down her spine. "Thank you so much. You've been a big help."

"You're very welcome. We're still on the case. I'll contact you once we have more information. Speaking of which, where will you be? You mentioned in your initial phone call that you wouldn't be staying in Chicago long."

"Well I'm actually headed back to Salem myself. I'm from there originally." Motioning towards her swollen belly she added. "And I have a very good reason for wanting to return."

"We'll be in touch."

"Thank you again." The woman spoke as she headed out the door into the warm Chicago air.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Finally having the chance to take a break near in the last hours of her long shift, Sami sat down with a plate of Chicken Parmesan at a table in a deserted corner of the restaurant. For once she was happy that she worked in a restaurant. The food was incredible and the staff were encouraged to try it on their breaks. "Long night sweetie?"

Sami grinned up at Claire, the other waitress still on. "Sure has been. I nearly keeled over when that bus load of Australians showed up. This is the last place I expected to see tourists showing up at."

"They were quite the group, loud and very rowdy, but they ate and drank a lot and tipped us well."

"They sure did." Sami patted her pocket, relieved that tonight had been even more profitable than last night. The women continued to chat for a few minutes before Claire was called back by one of the few remaining patrons. Sami waved at her departing form before digging into her entrée.

"That looks delicious."

Sami jumped in her chair, startled by the sudden appearance of the dark haired man. "What are you doing here?"

"You'll be done soon right?"

"About an hour and a half or so." She replied warily. "Why?"

"Good. I'll wait. What's that you're eating. It really does look delicious."

"It's Chicken Parmesan." Not understanding why he was there and not quite sure what to do with him she asked. "Want me to get you one?"

He nodded. Sami stood up and headed off to the kitchen. "It'll be a while, but I assume you're staying?"

"That's a fact."

Lucas stole a glance at his wristwatch. _Good. He should be there by now. I just hope he can convince her to agree._

"That's the fourth time you've looked at your watch in the past half hour. Do I bore you that much?"

Lucas sheepishly looked across the table to where Ginny was watching him with some annoyance. "Sorry. Really I am. I've just been a bit distracted today."

"Hmm mmm, kind of like you were yesterday after we ran into Sami Brady. I gathered from last night's conversation that you two know each other." She replied and then as she thought back to the various conversations she'd heard in her brief time at Basic Black she recalled one important piece of information about Kate Robert's second oldest son. "Omigod! You're the father of Sami's son Will. Of course! I should have seen the resemblance. Sami has the most adorable photo of him on her desk."

Lucas nodded. "I told you I was a single father with joint custody of my son. I guess I just figured that you knew about Sami since you work at Basic Black."

Now that she knew who he was and who Sami was, Ginny did indeed know and understand a lot more about her date. "You're still hung up on her aren't you?" She'd heard some of the other models gossiping about Sami and her ex, saying that Sami had strung the poor guy along for nearly a year and then ruthlessly broke his heart. Knowing Sami somewhat better Ginny had dismissed most of the gossip. Even if it were true, Sami had lost both parents with in a few months. It was bound to unsettle her other relationships.

Lucas couldn't lie. "Is it that obvious?"

"Not at first, but after seeing the way you kept watching her last night, it became clear. She seemed just as bad about you, so what's up with you two?"

"Do you think I'd be sitting here on a date with another woman if I knew what the problem was?" Lucas half-heartedly joked.

Ginny shook her head. "Look, I like you Lucas." Seeing his back stiffen at her words she elaborated. "I like you. Yes you're attractive. A woman would have to be dead not to be attracted to you, but I don't want to waste my time if you're hung up on another woman."

Lucas opened his mouth to protest causing Ginny to raise her hand in a stop motion. "It's okay Lucas. I know what it's like and it's not like I'm that in to you yet. We just met yesterday. I _do_ like you though and I'd like the chance to become your _friend._"

"Friend?" For some reason that was one word that Lucas always associated with Sami and Sami only. He had friendly acquaintances, but not counting his family members, there had never been anyone other than Sami with whom he'd shared a genuine friendship. In hindsight that very fact was what caused him to be so devastated when he realized that she hadn't told him the truth about Will. She'd been his only friend, his only trusted confidant and she'd lied to him. It broke his heart and it took him years to recover. Perhaps if he would have made other friends along the way, he would have recovered faster.

Ginny watched him with some bemusement. "Yes Lucas, _friend_. I'm assuming you have others right?"

Lucas sadly shook his head. "Just Sami."

She crinkled her brow in sympathy. "You poor man." Her mind made up, she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of their booth. "Come on."

"Where are you taking me?" Lucas asked, bewildered by her sudden movement.

"To the dance floor." She quipped as she tugged on his arm. Lucas stalled.

"I don't feel like dancing."

"That doesn't matter. They're playing a good song and I want to dance. So come on, it's not like it's a slow romantic one. We'll skip those ones if you want. Just come out here and have some fun."

Lucas took a deep breath and smiled wryly at the happy woman in front of him. Now that things were in the open between them he could relax. "Okay, but just a couple. I'm not really a dancer." He replied as she led him to the crowded dance floor.

Sami returned to her table in the corner and sat down. "It'll be about 20 more minutes. My break's over in about 15 so if you don't' mind I'm going to eat this while you explain to me why you're here."

John's eyebrow rose as he watched his stepdaughter. With her shorter hair he almost didn't recognize her at first. Her face seemed a bit thinner and she looked tired. In fact the normal antagonistic gleam in her blue eyes was missing. He was worried the most about that.

Sami waited for him to speak. When he didn't she jumped at the opportunity. "You're not here to tell me that I'm fired from Basic Black are you?"

Her question shook him out of his reverie. "No. Why would you think that?"

"Because we're not supposed to moonlight at other jobs."

"Sami. You're an intern in the filing room in the basement. I'd only have a problem if you were also working for the competition, like Titan for example. If you want to work a second job here, to pick up some extra cash, I have no problem with it."

Sami released the breath she'd been holding. Sure her job at Basic Black wasn't the best, hell it was akin to torture on most days, but once things got back to normal with her pay, it would pay the bills.

Stabbing a piece of chicken with her fork she lifted it to her mouth, pausing to ask him first. "So why are you here? I mean, I'm not Belle. You never just decide to pop in and say hi to me."

John winced at the accusing tone in her voice. _She has a point too, you never just stop in and visit her for the sake of seeing how she's doing._ "I'm here because I just found out about what Kate did."

It was Sami's turn to raise a skeptical eyebrow. "You expect me to believe that you just found out? It's been going on for nearly two months and Kate showed me the memo you signed authorizing it."

"Sami do you honestly think I would intentionally cause you that much hardship?" John retorted and then seeing her cynical glare he added. "May be you do, but you know I would never put Will through that."

Sami softened a bit at that. He did have a point. Although she was convinced that John hated her, he'd never ever shown any ill feelings towards her son. "But she showed me the paper."

"Samantha Gene." John sighed. Seeing her flinch at his use of her full name he quickly corrected himself. "Sami. Kate essentially runs my organization. Sure my signature was probably on it, but that's because we have it in digital format. I've always trusted her to use it appropriately. Apparently my trust was misplaced in this case."

Sami's eyes lit up. "So are you going to fire her?"

John shook his head. "No. But rest assured, the problem will be dealt with, in fact that's the real reason I'm here."

Sami was intrigued. Sure she wasn't a big fan of John's, but at this point she liked him a lot more than Kate. "You have a plan."

"I do." John nodded. "Sami, you never did complete high school did you?"

Sami was immediately back on the defensive. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Calm down. I didn't mean it to sound like an accusation. I just want to confirm a few facts."

"No I didn't finish." She accepted his explanation but still eyed him warily. Angrily thrusting her fork into another piece of chicken, she lifted it to her mouth and took a bite, waiting for him to explain further.

"And you didn't get your GED?"

She shook her head and finished chewing before answering. "No. I started preparing for it, but then I got sentenced to death row. There didn't seem to be a point in continuing after that, so I let it drop."

"I want you to write the exam. I checked and there's a sitting in three weeks. I've already taken the liberty of registering you."

"Pardon me?"

John held up his hands. "Let me finish. There's more."

"More?" Sami was indeed interested. Leaning forward she waited for John to explain what else he had planned.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five,**

Late Sunday morning as she raced to get her laundry and housecleaning done before heading back to the restaurant for her afternoon/evening shift, Sami couldn't help but mull over John's offer from the night before. Not only did he want her to get her GED but he also wanted her then go on and attend Salem University. She'd been flabbergasted by his offer. He was offering to pay for her tuition and books and he also wanted to pay her living expenses while she did it. The only condition was that she work for Basic Black during her summer break and if the area of studies she chose fell within the scope of Basic Black's business, she'd work for them for at least three yeas after graduation if they asked.

Sami had initially been suspicious of his motives and in fact had asked him what he was up to. John had simply let out a deep sad sigh and explained to her that he'd made some huge mistakes that hurt her and now he wanted to try and make some amends. Besides, as he pointed out, he'd paid for both Brady and Belle's education. He claimed to love Sami like his own and it was about time he proved it.

She'd remained skeptical at his offer, but he'd been insistent. So now she found herself faced with a difficult decision. She could either stay with her current position in the dark dusty hollows of her basement office, or she could quit that job and try to find another that would pay as much or she could reach for the shiny brass ring that John had placed above her. Sami wasn't stupid. She knew the last option was really the only option. She'd been a straight A student before dropping out of high school to have Will. Obtaining her GED would not be too difficult. Even university would be possible. After all, Will didn't need her home all of the time and Lucas was just next door.

She paused and smiled, hopeful for the first time in ages. _Maybe I can do this. I can prove everyone wrong._ Whistling softly, with a spring in her step she grabbed her last load of laundry and headed out the door to the laundry room.

Lucas was about to open his door to leave when he heard hers. Hearing her light footsteps and her whistling he paused, not wanting to be seen. He waited until he heard the elevator doors shut before exiting his apartment. Unwilling to risk running into her he headed in the opposite direction to the stairs. Once in the stairwell he paused and grinned over what he'd just seen. He'd have to check with John to be sure, but from the new lightness in Sami's walk he'd swear she was actually in a good mood. He said a silent prayer of thanks and took off for his daily workout at the gym feeling happier than he had in weeks.

"Lucas. Over here!"

He looked up and waved to his little brother as he heard the call. "Hey bro. How's it going?"

"Not too bad. Whoa!"

"What?"

"You look tired." Phillip explained. "Late night last night?"

Lucas grinned. "Yeah."

"So who's the babe? Or did you and Sami finally reconnect."

"Yeah right." Lucas replied cynically. "Sami and I are no where near reconciliation. Honestly, I'm not sure if we ever will be."

"Uh-huh." Phillip nodded. _You're fooling yourself big brother. You and Sami may say you're through, but saying it doesn't make it true. _"So if you weren't with Sami who were you with?"

"A friend." Lucas replied smugly.

"No seriously. Who was it?" Phillip pressed, wanting details.

"I'm not kidding. Yes she's a babe. She's a model in fact, but we're not dating. We're friends."

"Lucas you've never been just friends with a girl." Phillip argued.

"What about Sami? We were friends for years."

"Yes you were, and somehow, magically, she ended up pregnant with your child at seventeen. Try again bro."

"Well there was Jamie too."

Phillip shook his head. "No, from what I've heard from everyone else, Jamie had a huge crush on you and you wouldn't give her the time of day. In fact, I hear the _only_ time you paid her any attention was when she was with Sami, so technically she was Sami's friend not yours."

Lucas looked down. His brother had a point. He'd known about Jamie's crush, but for some reason he'd never been able to feel anything back for her. _That's because you were already entwined in Sami's web, even if you were in complete denial._ "I was friends with Greta."

"Hmmm. That's true enough I suppose." Phillip answered. "But still, I don't think you would have turned down a romp in bed with her if she had offered."

Lucas grinned. "Well when you put it that way…"

"So does your new _friend_ have a name?"

"Ginny." Lucas smiled. "And she is just my friend. She knows Sami and she knows about what happened. She's said she'd like to get to know me better, but since I'm damaged goods she'd rather not date me. So we go out – as buddies only."

"But still—."

"No buts. Look, how would you describe your relationship with Mimi?"

"With Meems?" Phillip smiled at the thought of his talkative friend. "We're friends of course."

"Exactly."

Phillip rolled his eyes. "Okay. She's your friend. But aren't you worried about what Sami will do to her? She hasn't exactly been kind to your dates this summer."

"Sami's fine with it. In fact she saw us together on our first date. They work together and from what I can tell, seem to get along well. Sami must like her. She could have easily dumped our dinners on us the other night."

"What? Were you having dinner at Sami's or something?"

Lucas laughed and clarified things for his brother. "No. No. Sami's waitressing at that new restaurant on the outskirts of town. You know the one: _Outer Limits_."

"Waitressing? But doesn't she still work at Basic Black?"

Lucas sighed. "It's a long story. I'll tell it to you while you spot me with the weights."

"Sami. You have someone at table five."

"Thanks Bridget." Sami called to the hostess as she grabbed her tray and headed for the kitchen door.

"Oh and look out. He's a hottie." Bridget winked before returning to her station near the entrance.

"No thanks." Sami muttered. She already had a perfectly good 'hottie' and managed to screw things up royally.

_Never mind that now Sami. You have work to do._ She laughed to herself. With this job she seemed to have developed a work ethic unseen during her entire time at Basic Black. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she wasn't stuck in a dark basement or just the fact that she wasn't working for Kate that had done the trick. Whichever, she didn't really care. She was just happy that for once something in her life seemed to be going her way. "Hello. I'm Sami. Are you ready to order yet?"

"Only if the menu serves blue-eyed blondes like you."

She paled at the familiar voice. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I was hungry."

"And you just happened to decide to come here."

"Well I didn't just happen. I heard you were working here and I wanted to talk to you."

Shaking her head Sami reprimanded her customer. "Tell your brother to stop sending people here. I'm fine."

"What does my brother have to do with this?" Phillip asked, feigning hurt. "I'm here because of Belle."

"Belle?"

"Yes Belle. You remember her right? Your little sister, my girlfriend."

Sami was intrigued. "So are you two, like actually a couple yet? Because the last time I checked she was still crying over Shawn."

"Shawn's an idiot." Phillip retorted defensively.

"I _know_ that." Sami huffed. "But that didn't seem to stop Belle from loving him in the past."

"Well she's slowly getting over him. We've been going out for a few weeks now." Phillip explained, conveniently not mentioning that Belle had made it clear on more than one occasion that she considered Phillip to be her best friend ever.

Sami eyed him skeptically. She knew he was head over heels for her little sister, but she just had a feeling that he and Belle were never meant to be more than friends. "So what did you want to talk to me about? I can't really chat right now, but if you can wait awhile?"

Phillip smiled. "How about I wait 'til you're done. A little birdie told me that you've been walking everywhere. We can talk on the ride home."

Sami shook her head and chuckled. "Fine. Have it your way. We'll discuss my sister and your terrible love life later. Now what would you like to order?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Sami pushed the stack of sorted and completed files across her desk and let out a groan at the cloud of dust that flew in the air. Coughing, she waved her hand in front of her face, grimacing at the dirt. Call her paranoid but she'd swear Kate was purposely pumping dust into her office. "It's probably filled with asbestos too." She muttered as she grabbed her water bottle and headed upstairs to the lunchroom to fill it.

"Sami!"

Sami stopped as she heard her sister's perky call. "Hey Tink."

"I was just going to come and see you in your office." Belle smiled.

"Sure you were." Sami murmured too softy for Belle to hear. "So what can I do for you Belle?"

"Oh I wanted to show you my latest designs. Kate's going to showcase me in another fashion show, this time in Paris."

Sami bit her tongue, trying not to let her bitterness and jealousy show. Although she didn't deny that Belle had some talent, Belle had also been handed everything on a silver platter and apparently now, on a runway in Paris. If it had been Carrie telling her she probably would have let loose with a sarcastic comment, but it was Belle and despite how annoyingly perky yet at the same time spoiled and whiny her younger sister was, Sami couldn't help but feel some happiness for her. Taking a deep breath she smiled brightly. "That's great Belle. _You_ must be thrilled."

Never noticing that her sister emphasized the "you" Belle beamed back. "I am. And I just know this news will bring Shawn back to town."

"What?"

"Well I just know that once he hears about it he'll be so proud and he'll come home."

Sami eyed her pretty, if somewhat delusional sister, with skepticism. "But if he's out of town how do you suppose he'll hear about it?"

Belle's smile faded momentarily as she considered her sister's words. "What do you mean? Of course he'll hear about it. It's me!"

Sami raised her eyebrow at her sister. "You're right. What was I thinking? Of course Shawn will know. I mean surely he still keeps up with the latest fashion news."

Missing her sister's sarcastic tone entirely Belle nodded and smiled brightly. "Exactly!"

Sami shook her head in disbelief. "So Cutie, since you're here, would you like to do lunch with me today? I packed some sandwiches and I was going to go to that little park down by the river."

"Well I was going to call Phillip and have him come get me and take me somewhere, but I guess I could just go with you instead. I'll call him and have him pick up lunch for me"

"Yeah." Sami rolled her eyes as she fought the urge to smack her hand against her forehead in frustration. Sometimes, correction most of the time, her little sister could be so self absorbed. "I have an even better idea. Why don't you just stop at that little café across the street and grab something on the way. It'll save you from interrupting Phillip's day."

"Oh but he doesn't mind."

"But still... Come on Belle, it's not really fair to do that to him." Sami wasn't sure where her sudden desire to protect Lucas' younger brother had come from, but after the conversation she'd had with the poor guy the night before, she felt she needed to set her little sister straight. "Anyhow, speaking of Phillip, I need to talk you about him."

"Really?"

"Yes. Really. We'll do it over lunch. Let's meet back here at say five to noon?"

"Okay." Belle giggled and flounced back down the hall.

Sami continued on to her original destination, the lunchroom. As she rounded the corner she crashed head on into a solid chest.

"Whoa there girl. Slow down."

Sami muttered softly at the sound of his voice. "What are you doing down here John? Slumming it with the peasants?"

John laughed. Despite their conversation on the weekend, some things just never changed and his stepdaughter's attitude was one of those things. "Sami." He nodded.

Sami looked up at her stepfather's expectant stare. "What?"

"You haven't given me your answer yet."

"You said I had until the end of today to decide. The day's not over."

"Sami…" John moaned in frustration. _Why does she persist in making things difficult? Just say yes peanut and I guarantee your world will change for the better._

"I'm kidding." Sami teased. "I think I've made my decision. I just have a couple of questions first."

"Fire away."

"No. Not here. Come down to my office in a few minutes. We can talk down there. No one ever bothers me unless it's to dump more work on my desk and since Kate herself brought a cart of files down this morning, I don't expect her back until at least this afternoon."

John agreed. "No problem. I'll see you in ten."

"So. What did you need to ask me?"

"It's about Kate." Sami paused. Despite his offer, she still wasn't convinced entirely of his sincerity. For all she knew this could be some evil trick masterminded by her nemesis Kate to cause her further pain. "Does she know about the offer you made me?"

"No." John answered truthfully. "And she won't be finding out."

"So how are you going to explain my sudden absence from Basic Black?"

"I'm not. You are."

Sami was skeptical. "_I_ am?"

He nodded. "University starts in four weeks. I've made a few calls to Salem U. As long as you get your GED with a sufficient result they're willing to let you in."

Sami smiled wryly. "Funding a new building for them are we?"

"Let's just say that they value the contributions I've made over the years and they look forward to my future contributions." Then to reassure her that he wasn't necessarily buying her a place in school he added. "But—."

"But I have to pass first and not just a pass, but well enough that I deserve to get in. Don't worry John, I get it."

"So you'll do it?"

"You still haven't answered my question about Kate."

"Well I considered letting you quit, but that may just raise her suspicions. So I've decided to fire you."

Sami laughed. It was the day she'd both dreaded and dreamed of. "You're firing me?"

"Well if I want to keep up the ruse that I support what Kate has been doing to you, then it makes perfect sense. Once we know your exam results I'll just issue the memo saying I'm letting you go."

"John, I know Kate's a bitch, but don't you think that she might find it odd for _you_ to give up on me?" Despite their tempestuous past, and Sami's months of accusations regarding John's guilt in Marlena's death, Sami had finally come to the realization that John had indeed loved her mother. Although it seemed like such a small admission, it had taken Sami weeks of soul-searching to come to that conclusion. They still had many, many problems to work out, but for the first time in years Sami was beginning to think their relationship had a chance.

John for his part, knew they still had much to work through, but he'd felt the ice beginning to thaw and it gave him hope. They'd both lost so much and all he really wanted was for Sami to finally be happy. "Not if I start complaining about your work now, she won't. By the time three weeks is over she'll be so sick of hearing me whine about you that she'll beg me to fire you."

"That's true." Her lips twitched. "So will you be terminating me with pay?"

John grinned, happy to see some of her spark returning. "We'll see."

"So Sami. you said you wanted to talk about me." Belle giggled as she picked up a piece of sushi with her chopsticks and took a bite.

Sami stared at her sister incredulously. She wasn't sure which was more disturbing: the fact that Belle had managed to get a catered sushi lunch ordered and delivered to the park or that she assumed that everyone always wanted to talk about her. "No. I said I wanted to discuss you and Phillip."

"Isn't he the greatest friend? He does everything I ask." Belle sighed. "I can't wait until Shawn gets home so I can tell him how wonderful Phillip's been during his time away."

"Belle stop it!" Sami didn't mean to snap, but she was quickly growing tired of Belle's attitude when it came to men.

"Stop what?"

"Stop leading Phillip on and stop pretending that Shawn is just going to come riding back into your life as though he's never been away."

"I'm not leading Phillip on."

Sami sighed in frustration. She hated to do this, but she'd actually started to like Phillip and she was tired of the games her sister was playing. Softly she explained. "Belle. Phillip loves you."

"Of course he does. Everyone loves me."

"No."

"No?" Her lip began to tremble.

Sami did not want to deal with her sister's tears. She had enough to worry about with her own. "I didn't mean it that way. Of course we love you Belle." She soothed.

"Then what did you mean?" She squeaked.

"Belle. Phillip is in love with you. Deeply in love and I'm afraid you're just going to break his heart. I'm already responsible for hurting his brother. I don't want you to do that to him too."

Belle was silent, trying to process the information her sister was feeding her. "He _loves_ me? But he knows I love Shawn."

"Sweetie, you know we have no say in who we love. It just happens." Wistfully she thought back to her years of mistakes. If only she would have known that her love was right beside her the whole time. Shaking the thought away she turned back to her sister. "Look. I know you care for Phillip, but unless you can say that you return his feelings you need to set him free. He deserves honesty."

Belle stared at Sami. She never thought she'd see the day when her big sister would be preaching honesty, but as she looked at the longing on her face and the tears in Sami's eyes she knew she was speaking from experience. Suddenly serious she replied softly. "Okay. I will…"

Sami smiled gratefully. Maybe she couldn't fix what was wrong with her and Lucas, but the least she could do was prevent those he cared about from going through the same heartbreak. _Besides, I know the perfect person to set him up with once he's over my sister. A nice young redheaded model who's been spending far too much time with Lucas lately for my liking…_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Lucas glanced nervously around the parking garage as he fumbled with the sticky lock on his storage unit. He'd just returned from a 3 hour bike ride and the whole time he'd felt like he was being watched. Returning home hadn't shaken that feeling. Finally freeing the lock he stashed his mountain bike inside the chainlink fenced unit and quickly relocked it. With one last anxious look around, he headed for the stairwell and up to his apartment.

As the door shut behind him a young curly haired woman stepped out of the shadows. She'd noticed his nervousness and figured that he must have sensed her presence. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to keep stalking Lucas and Sami forever she decided that tomorrow night would be the night she revealed herself to them. She just hoped that they'd welcome her back and go along with everything she had planned. Her future depended on it.

As he rounded the corner from the elevator Lucas was startled to see his brother Rex sitting on the floor outside of Sami's apartment. "Rex!"

Rex looked up from the book he was reading and nodded to his older brother. "Lucas." Things between the two were still rather tense and uncomfortable so rather than chatting Rex elected to turn his head back to his reading.

Lucas, curious about his brother's presence wasn't about to let Rex off that easy. "What are you doing here?"

Rex looked up again, clearly annoyed. "I'm waiting for Sami."

"It's only 5:00. She doesn't get home from work until 6:20."

Rex's eyes narrowed. "That's such a precise number Lucas. Do you keep tabs on her?"

Lucas felt his skin flush. "No!"

Rex's eyebrow rose skeptically. "I'll bet you do. I'll bet you make sure you're home every night just so you can make sure that she's gets home safe."

_Busted. Isn't it amazing how easy your brother can read you._ "I do NOT wait for Sami to get home safely every night." _Liar._

"Uh-huh." Rex quipped, unconvinced and again returned to his book.

"So you still haven't said what _you're_ doing here."

Rex rolled his eyes. "If you must know, I'm helping Sami study. She's writing her GED exam in two and a half weeks. I was here a couple of nights ago and went through some things with her and tonight we're doing a followup."

Lucas was surprised. "Let me get this straight. _You_ and Sami are working together to help her study? When did you two become buddies?"

"She _is_ my sister you know."

"And I'm your brother but I don't see you making an effort to spend any time with me."

"Well Sami didn't try to sleep with Cassie."

"Hey! I didn't even know she was my sister then." Lucas protested.

"No, but you shouldn't have been with her. She was your boss' daughter, close to ten years your junior and a virgin to boot." Rex sniped back. "Plus, were you or were you not already in love with Sami."

"I didn't think there was a chance with us back then."

"But you were in love with her weren't you?"

Lucas nodded.

"You sure have a funny way of showing her your love."

"What the hell does that mean?" Lucas asked defensively.

"Last year you were in love with Sami but decided to try and sleep with Cassie. This year you're still in love with Sami and you decided to sleep with that girl you picked up at Alice's. What was her name again? Mandy?"

"Manda." Lucas answered softly and then with anger flashing in his eyes he added. "And first of all, Sami and I had broken up when I met her and secondly I never slept with her."

"But you almost did, and Sami thought you did and you waited a whole month before finally letting her know that you hadn't. And even then, you only did because Mimi busted you." Rex shook his head at the memory. He'd been bartending one night and had noticed Manda walk into the bar. He'd been tempted to walk right up to her and ask her for the truth, but Mimi had come in and managed to stop him at the last minute. Telling Rex to trust her, she waited until Manda headed for the washroom and then followed her. Five minutes later she came back with a triumphant grin on her face. Rex didn't know how she did it, but his girlfriend had a gift for getting information out of people and it just made him love her even more.

"It wasn't Sami's business. We broke up." Lucas protested, although deep inside he knew his brother had made a valid point. He had let her believe the lie. He wasn't proud of what he'd done, but he felt that he'd been justified in his actions. "Sami never outright asked me if I'd slept with Manda. She just assumed I had."

"An assumption that you were quick to let her keep. Admit it Lucas, you just wanted to hurt her."

"She hurt me first."

Rex sighed at the pain-filled tone of Lucas' voice. It was the same tone that Sami's held when discussing her son's father. He'd never met two more obstinate people. Two stubborn souls who'd rather torture each other than admit that they both were at fault. "You know what? I think we should just change the topic right now or we're liable to end up saying something we'll regret."

Lucas nodded. "Okay."

Rex resumed his reading.

Lucas watched him for a moment and then quietly asked. "So do you want to wait in my place until she gets home?"

"You don't want to do some weird brother bonding thing with me do you?" Rex asked warily.

Lucas sighed. "No. Look Rex, you don't have to come in if you don't want to. I just thought you'd find my sofa more comfortable than the floor. We don't even have to talk. I'll just make some dinner and you can read in my living room."

Rex agreed and stood up to follow his brother inside.

At precisely 6:20 pm Sami returned home from work. Throwing her purse down in frustration she wondered where the hell Rex was. "He said he'd be waiting for me." Thirty seconds later her question was answered by a knock on the door.

"Come in Rex, it's open."

"It's not Rex."

Sami froze at the sound of his voice. Whipping around, eyes flashing, she muttered. "What the hell do you want?"

"Truce." Lucas smirked while holding his hands up in front of him.

Sami's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What do you want? You don't exactly make a habit of dropping by here anymore." Before he could open his mouth to answer she snapped. "And whatever it is you want, make it fast, I'm expecting company."

Lucas bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out loud. Some things never changed and although Sami might appear to be calmer these days, the spitfire he'd fallen in love with was still buried in there. "Bad day sweetheart?"

Sami frowned. Her day had been annoying enough without the added aggravation of one Lucas Roberts standing in her apartment. "I'm not your sweetheart anymore, don't you remember?"

Lucas growled a low response. "Of course I remember." _That's the problem Lucas you idiot. You remember all of it. The fights, the fun times, the teasing, the kisses and the absolute best sex you've ever had in your life._

Sami crossed her arms as she watched him. His expression had changed from one of teasing to an almost dreamlike state. "What is with you tonight?"

Lucas shook himself out of his stupor. "Nothing. I mean it's nothing that concerns you."

Sami's arched her brow. "So then what the hell are you doing here?"

"Rex."

"Yes, I'm expecting Rex here any moment. That's why you have to go. We have studying to do."

"I know."

"You know?"

"Rex told me."

Sami scoffed. "As if."

Lucas mimicked her perfectly. "As if. Look, I ran into Rex in the hall earlier. He's over at my place."

"So send him here. Time's a wasting and you need to leave."

"No."

"No?"

"No. I cooked supper for us. You can bring your books and study at my place while you eat."

Sami's eyes widened. "I thought we agreed that we were finished with each other until Will returns in September." An invitation back into Lucas' apartment was the last thing she'd been expecting. "Well just tell Rex to eat and then come over. I'll just grab something here—."

"God woman! Can't you do what I ask just once?" Lucas groaned in frustration.

"I would if I could understand your motive in asking. Just what are you up to?"

"Why are you always suspicious?"

"I—."

"Hey guys. As entertaining as your conversation has been, can't you just drop it and come over here? The foods getting cold."

Sami looked up and smiled at her younger brother who was standing in the doorway of her place. "Hey Rex."

"Hey Sami." Holding out his hand he beckoned for her to follow him. "Come on, let's go eat."

"I could have cooked here." Sami muttered, although secretly she was happy to be going. Whatever else she said about Lucas, she couldn't deny that he was a superb chef.

"Yes you could have, but I don't want to spend the night in emergency getting my stomach pumped." Rex joked in reply.

"Hey!"

"He has a point Sami." Lucas murmured with a wink to Rex as he followed her to the door.

"Shut up Lucas!"

"Shut up Lucas"

"Stop doing that!"

"Stop doing that."

"Guys! Don't make me send you to your rooms!"

"He started it." Sami began to whine.

Rex rolled his eyes at his two siblings, saying a silent prayer for patience as he followed them down the hall to Lucas' place. He'd promised Phillip and Belle that he'd pitch in and help reunite the separated lovers, but sometimes he wondered if anything would ever make Lucas and Sami grow up and come to their senses.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Six o'clock came far too soon for Sami the next morning. With a groan she reached over and whacked at the snooze button on her alarm clock. Closing her eyes she murmured. "Just five more minutes."

Three and a half hours later the incessant ringing of the telephone jarred her from her peaceful slumber. With horrified eyes she let out a yelp as she noticed the time. "Damn it! I slept in." Snatching the phone off the receiver she snapped. "What?"

"Well good morning to you too Peanut." John chuckled at Sami's tone. As a child she'd always been cranky in the morning. It was good to know that she hadn't changed.

"John." She grimaced. "I know, I know, I'm late. I overslept. Rex and I were up really late studying last night, I guess I was just worn out." _Oh admit it Sami, it's not the studying that kept you awake, it was dinner at Lucas' place. _

"It's okay. The real reason I called is to tell you that I've sent Kate to Madrid for the week. So, since she's not around why don't you take some time off and work on your studies."

Sami held the receiver away from her head and stared at it suspiciously. Somewhere along the way she'd slipped into the twilight zone, she was sure of it.

"Sami?... Sami?..." John's disembodied voice could be heard through the receiver. Finally Sami frowned and placed it back up to her ear. "Is this a joke?"

John sighed deeply at the suspicion in her voice. As much as he hated to admit it to himself she had every right to be wary of his motives. After all, the entire time that the serial killer, _he still couldn't bring himself to call Marlena the killer,_ had been on the loose he'd treated Sami poorly. Now with both of them being rather alone in life, he'd hoped that they'd be able to begin healing their battered and torn relationship. Trust was going to play a huge factor in it. Until Sami could learn to trust him, they couldn't move forward. "Sami, it's not a joke. I know you're working hard preparing for your exam and I just thought you might enjoy some extra time to study."

"But John I have bills to pay. I can't just take more time off."

"Don't worry about your bills. They'll be taken care of today."

"But—."

"No buts. Now get some more rest and study hard. I don't want to see you back at Basic Black until next week."

Sami frowned. She didn't want hand outs from her stepfather. His offer to pay for school was one thing. Part of that agreement included her working for Basic Black after her education was complete. But this was charity and she didn't want his pity. "John, I'll let you _loan_ me the money for now."

John shook his head as a wry grin flitted across his face. Sami was nothing if not stubborn. "Okay, have it your way. I'll loan you the money. I'll have a courier drop off the check this afternoon."

Sami smiled. "Thanks. Bye."

"Bye."

Hanging up the phone she rolled back to the middle of the bed and closed her eyes for a few more minutes of sleep.

Later that morning Lucas was returning from taking his garbage out when he heard a crash and a muffled scream coming from Sami's apartment. Finding her door locked he cursed himself for having removed her key from his key chain. After running back to his apartment and grabbing the key from his kitchen drawer he tore back to her place. Flinging open the door he scanned the room. It was empty. He paused for a moment and listened. He could hear crying and swearing coming from behind Sami's closed bedroom door. On instinct alone he flew to the door and whipped it open, startling Sami who was sitting on the floor next to the bed holding a blood-soaked sheet to her foot.

"What are you doing here?" She gasped between sniffles.

"I heard a crash and a scream. What happened baby?" The unconscious tenderness in his voice only worsened Sami's tears. This was the Lucas she'd fallen in love with. The kind and caring man who wanted to help and protect her at all costs. The same man she'd foolishly driven away with her insatiable need to eliminate Kate from their lives.

Lucas grew alarmed as her tears increased. He fought the urge to gather into his arms and gently rock her. Three months ago that would have been his response, but he knew he couldn't or rather shouldn't do that any more. Instead he reached out and gently touched her arm. "What happened?"

Sami sniffed and lifted her fingers to wipe away her tears. Pointing to the nightstand she explained. "I somehow got myself turned around in bed and I must have kicked the nightstand. The lamp fell and startled me. I automatically moved to get out of bed and I must have stepped on a piece of glass. I cut my foot."

"Oh. Your foot! Let me get some towels and then I'll have a look at it." He stood up and walked out of the room, heading for her linen closet.

Sami watched him leave and let out a sigh. Wincing she pulled the sheet that she'd hastily wrapped around her foot off and had a look. Lucky for her the cut didn't seem to be too deep. She hoped she didn't need stitches. She'd had more than enough of those with her throat last year and the thought of watching someone sew through her skin with a needle was more than she could handle at the moment.

"Here we go. Let's get you out into the kitchen where I can check that cut."

Taking a towel from his outstretched hand she wrapped it around her damaged foot and then moved to stand. She grimaced as she tried to put weight on it.

Lucas watched her struggle to walk a few steps and then swooped in and lifted her into his arms.

Sami gasped as her body made contact with his. Her senses went on high alert as she breathed in the deliciously familiar scent of his cologne. As her muscles automatically molded themselves to his ,she fought the urge to rest her head against his chest. _Oh god, I've missed being here. _Feigning annoyance she huffed. "Lucas! What do you think you're doing?"

As he reached her bedroom door he answered. "What does it look like? I'm carrying you." _I just never thought I'd be carrying you away from your bed rather than to it._

At Sami's shocked gasp he flushed. He'd meant for that last line to be silent. Ignoring the questions in the blue saucer-wide eyes that were staring up at him he quickly deposited her on top of the countertop. "Lucas?"

He ignored her querying gaze, instead busying himself with cleaning and inspecting the cut on her foot. With tweezers from her first aid kit he carefully plucked out two small chards of glass and then proceeded to clean the cut. Satisfied that it wasn't deep enough to require stitches he carefully bandaged it. Without thinking he kissed it better, just like he'd always done with Will.

A small smiled twitched on Sami's lips while she watched him. He could deny he cared all he wanted, but she knew the truth.

"What's so funny?" His eyes narrowed at the sudden merriment that had replaced the tears in her eyes.

Looking like that cat that swallowed the canary she simply smiled wider. "Oh nothing." Gingerly she lowered herself off the countertop balancing on her good foot before setting her bandaged one down. Careful to not put pressure on the damaged heel she limped over to the fridge and pulled out an iced tea. "Can I get you anything, you know, as a thank you?"

Lucas hesitated. Part of him wanted so badly to stay there and spend time with her. He'd missed her so much, but the other part of him was screaming at him to run. His feelings for her were still so intense and if he stayed he was liable to get sucked back into her web. He was desperately trying to move forward with his life, to come to terms with the fact that he and Sami were meant to be apart, not together. "Sami I don't think—."

"Oh there you are Lucas! Hi Sami."

"Ginny!" Sami's eyes showed her surprise at the other woman's presence in her doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"Ginny and I have a date this afternoon." Lucas quickly explained. "Come on Gin, we'd better get going." With his hand on her elbow he escorted the redhead out the door but not before he and Ginny both noticed the hurt flash across Sami's pale features as they said goodbye.

After he shut the door Ginny turned to Lucas. "What did I just interrupt? I thought you two weren't seeing each other. And since when did our cycling become a _date?_"

"We're not. She cut her foot. I was just helping her. And just for the record, friends can have dates. I didn't say it was a romantic one."

"Uh-huh, and that's why you two were locked in a staring contest before I said anything. Face it Lucas, you still love her."

"I'm not denying that."

Ginny gave him an exasperated look as they headed for the elevator. Men could be so frustrating sometimes, especially hot, stubborn men. "Then why don't you do something about it? You're definitely into her, she's definitely into you, so what's the problem?"

"I can't trust her." He paused as the elevator doors opened, allowing Ginny to get on first. They rode in silence for half a minute before getting off at the bottom floor and heading for the storage area where he'd locked up his bike the previous day.

As she waited for him to fiddle with the sticky lock, Ginny bit her lip thoughtfully. "You still haven't told me what exactly happened between the two of you. I mean, of course you haven't, we've only known each other for a few days. I think you should tell me though. You sound like you need an unbiased opinion."

Lucas tugged on the lock, finally managing to get it open. Pulling his bike out he handed her his helmet to hold while he relocked the storage unit. "You're not going to just tell me to go fix things with her are you? Because I've had more than enough advice like that from my assorted siblings."

She handed his helmet back to him and watched as he carefully fastened the strap. Mimicking his movements she attached hers and mounted her bicycle. "Well, I need to hear the whole story before I can suggest anything, but can you promise me one thing Lucas?"

They began to pedal away from his building as he answered. "Sure why not?"

She smiled and looked over at him. "If I hear your side of the story and then I ask Sami for hers and then I tell you to try and work it out, will you?"

"I can't promise that Gin." Lucas sighed before pedaling away faster in an attempt to extract himself from her awkward questions.

Ginny watched his bike pull away from hers and quietly vowed. "Well I'm not going to give up you know. From what I've seen, what you two have is rare. Trust me, you don't want to give up on it that easily." Kicking her bike into a higher gear she pedaled faster in an effort to catch up to him before they hit the trails.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Lucas wiped the sweat from his forehead as he took a drink from his water bottle and waited for Ginny to catch up to him. Glancing around the park he took in the various sights and sounds of the kids playing in the large fountain in the middle of Salem's largest greenspace. Watching a toddler of about 2 years shriek with laughter as he ran away from his mother, he couldn't help but recall all the lazy afternoons he and Sami had spent in this very park back when Will was just a small boy. He sighed at the memories. He hadn't even known he was Will's father back then. He let out another big sigh, his shoulders slumping in grief over what might have been.

"You know, the way you're always sighing when you're with me is beginning to give me a complex. Either I'm the most boring person in the world, or you're really Charlie Brown. Well Charlie Brown with more hair and a really ripped bod. So which is it?" Lucas closed his eyes briefly in guilt before turning around to face Ginny's mocking green eyes. "Well?"

"Sorry." He shook his head and sighed again.

Ginny watched him and began to chuckle. Lucas didn't know what to make of her laughter. "What's so funny?"

She tried to answer and then took another look at him and laughed even harder.

"Ginny!"

After a moment or two she finally managed to regain composure. "I'm sorry Lucas really I am." She tried to wipe the amusement off her face, but the pout on his wasn't helping matters any. With one last chuckle she finally managed to stifle her laughs. "I just had the funniest vision of you dressed as Charlie Brown, complete with that yellow and black striped shirt."

"I'm glad I could provide some entertainment for you." Lucas replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Ginny held her hand up to her mouth and let out another chuckle. "Can I help it if you remind me of my favorite Peanuts character?"

Lucas sighed again at her use of the word "peanut" causing Ginny to burst into another round of laughter.

"Stop it Lucas! You're killing me with those sighs. It's a beautiful day, the birds are singing, children are laughing. Look over there, even that baby is laughing." She pointed across the square to where a young blonde woman was holding a small giggling infant.

Lucas' frown disappeared as he followed the direction of her hand. Spotting his sister Jennifer and his new nephew his mouth broke into a wide grin. "Hey! That's Jennifer."

"Jennifer?"

"My sister. Come on, I'll introduce you to her."

The pair walked their bikes over to the bench where Jennifer was sitting playing with her baby son. Lucas smiled at her as he watched her coo to his nephew.

Jennifer heard footsteps and looked up, startled to see her little brother standing in front of her and even more surprised to see the tall redheaded woman with him, she'd grown so accustomed to seeing him always accompanied by Sami over the past year. "Lucas! Hi!"

Lucas leaned down and gave his sister a brief kiss on the cheek before dropping one onto the bald head of his little nephew. "Hey Jen. How are my favorite sister and nephew doing today?"

"We're fine, just enjoying an afternoon in the park." Jennifer scooted over on the bench and motioned for Lucas to join her. Realizing that her brother wasn't in a hurry to introduce her to his new friend she smiled up at the woman. "Hi. I'm Jennifer, Lucas' sister." Holding her baby out in front of her she added. "And this little tyke is my son Hart."

"Oh what a little doll!" Ginny exclaimed as she reached out touch the baby's small fingers. "And what a sweet name!"

"Harcourt Steven Deveraux is his full name. Named for his late daddy and late uncle." Jennifer explained with a smile. "My daughter Abby and I figured that Harcourt was a bit of a mouthful and since he owns our hearts he became Hart."

"How old is he?"

"Six weeks." Jennifer replied proudly. She still missed Jack terribly but her heart was slowly mending with Jack's final gift to her and Abby.

"Can I hold him Jen?" Lucas asked as he held his arms out. He'd fallen in love with the baby from the first moment he'd seen him. Taking the little bundle from Jen he let out another wistful sigh. This was the life he'd planned on having with Sami.

Jennifer observed his wistfulness and decided that she'd have to have a little chat with her brother later on. Looking up at Ginny she smiled. "So Ginny. How do you know Lucas?"

"Oh I work at Basic Black. His mom set us up on a blind date a few nights ago."

Jennifer's brows rose in surprise. According to her cousin Julie, Lucas and Sami had run into some difficulties in their relationship back in June. Heartbroken, Lucas had sworn off dating for a long time. She could hardly believe that Kate had been successful in coaxing Lucas to give it a try again. Hesitantly she asked. "So you two are dating now?"

Ginny could see the skepticism in Lucas' sister's eyes. _Okay, obviously his sister knows the score with Sami too. _Shaking her head ruefully she answered bluntly. "No. We're not."

"We're friends." Lucas quickly explained.

"Yeah, I don't handle being rebound girl very well, so I decided that Lucas and I would be better off as buddies. Besides he's the only man I've ever met who likes to work out as much as me."

Jennifer's smile widened. She still wanted to have a talk with her brother but she was relieved to hear that he wasn't dating someone new just yet. "So Ginny, you mentioned you work at Basic Black. What do you do there?"

"She models." Lucas answered before she could.

"He's right. I model, but just part time. I'm actually a student at Salem University. Modeling pays for my tuition."

Lucas eyes rose in surprise. He remembered her mentioning knowing Rex from a class, but he hadn't realized she was still a student. "You're still in university?"

Ginny nodded and then wryly explained to Jennifer with a wink. "We've spent the last few days psychoanalyzing Lucas. There hasn't been a lot of time to discuss me."

Jennifer laughed. She knew her that discussing her brother's various issues could conceivably take weeks. She felt a bit sorry for Ginny who obviously seemed to be a great girl. "You're a student. Which program?"

"Civil engineering. I'm in my third year. That's how I know Rex. We had a class together in our first year. Of course with him being a supergenius, he graduated after one year. I still have two years to go."

"You're going to be an engineer?" Lucas silently kicked himself for not finding out more about her before now.

"Yeah, I am." She grinned. "I've always liked building bridges."

Remembering how determined she seemed to be in helping him fix things with Sami, Lucas couldn't help but wonder if her words held a double meaning.

Ginny watched Lucas process her words. Once she was sure that he'd understood her meaning loud and clear she looked at her watch and announced. "Hey look at the time. Lucas, I have to run over to the university this afternoon and get my registration in order and then I leave tonight for a three day photo shoot up North. I'd better get going."

"Do you want me to ride back with you?" Lucas asked as he stood up, prepared to follow her.

Ginny shook her head. "No, you stay here and visit with your sister and that adorable nephew of yours. I'll give you a call once I'm back in town." Turning to Jen she smiled. "It was so nice to meet you and Hart." With a wave she mounted her bike and took off across the park.

Lucas watched her go and then turned back to where Jennifer was looking up at him expectantly. As he handed the baby back to her outreached arms he warily asked. "What?"

"She's nice." Jennifer commented quietly.

"Yes she is."

"She's beautiful."

Lucas couldn't disagree. He nodded silently.

Jennifer shook her head sensing his sorrow. "But she's not Sami."

Lucas sighed and shook his head sadly. "No. She's not."

Jennifer adjusted her hold on Hart before reaching out and placing her hand over his. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Lucas stared into his sister's concerned blue eyes. In the years since Lucas' paternity had been revealed they'd never really been particularly close. Lucas had built a protective wall around himself: a wall that very few people had managed to penetrate.

Jennifer for her part had been so preoccupied with rebuilding her relationship with Jack over the past few years that she hadn't spent a lot of time getting to know her younger brother. Now, facing a life without her beloved husband, she realized how precious life was and was determined that she'd be more involved in the lives of the people who were important to her.

Lucas felt overwhelmed by the prospect of explaining his mixed up relationship with Sami. The pain was still too raw, too new. "Jen, I don't even know where to start."

Remembering her training as an investigative reporter Jennifer decided to treat this as though it were an interview. After returning her son to his carriage she carefully chose questions that she hoped would help Lucas open up to her. "Well let's start with the facts. Lucas how do you feel about Sami?"

Lucas stared down at young Hart who was cooing in his carriage. Reaching out, he held his finger out for the young boy to grab as he answered sincerely. "I love her."

Jennifer smiled, happy that he wasn't in denial about his feelings. "And how do you think she feels about you?"

Lucas continued to play with his nephew, smiling slightly as the boy's small fingers curled around his. Without looking up he answered. "I'm pretty sure she loves me."

"Pretty sure?"

He nodded. "Well she must. She's been as miserable as me these past two months."

"I remember seeing you two at Alice's the night of the grand opening. You weren't together then right?"

"No, we'd just broken up. Or at least I'd broken up with Sami."

"Sami seemed upset that night. I take it that the breakup wasn't mutual?"

Lucas motioned towards Hart, who was beginning to fuss. "Want me to hold him?"

Jennifer nodded, causing Lucas to reach down and carefully pick up the little blue-dressed bundle. Gently he lifted the baby onto his shoulder, allowing Hart to stare out into the park with his wide blue eyes. With an instinct left over from his younger years with Will, Lucas automatically stood up and started pacing back and forth with the fussy baby. Within a few moments, the boy's whimpers ceased.

Jennifer admired her brother's ability to calm her son. "You're a natural."

"I'm a bit out of practice, but some things you just do on instinct." He explained.

Satisfied that her son was in capable hands she continued to gently coax some answers out of Lucas. "Sami didn't want to break up did she?" She remembered the look she'd seen on Sami's face that night. It wasn't the look of a woman who'd just initiated a breakup with her boyfriend. The younger woman had looked completely heartbroken.

Lucas let out a deep sigh. "No, it was my idea."

"But you were and I think still are, crazy about her. What on earth made you decide it was over?"

"She lied to me."

Jennifer tried her best to not make her reply sound glib. "But Lucas, you knew it was Sami. You've known her for years…"

"And I should have known what to expect. You sound like my mom."

Jennifer quickly moved to clarify her statement. "I didn't mean it as a bad thing. I just meant that you know Sami better than anyone. You've managed to see the good in her, even when no one else could."

Lucas nodded his head in agreement. "Jack saw it too, don't forget."

"They were kindred souls I think. Both considered themselves outcasts, never realizing just how important they were to those who loved them."

"Exactly! See you see it and I see it, but Sami never does. Deep down she's still a little girl who craves love and attention."

"And you were the man who gave her what she needed." She nodded, understanding their dynamic far better than Lucas could possibly imagine.

"I was, or at least I thought I was…"

"Until?" Jennifer prompted him to continue.

"Until one night I walked into the Blue Note and found her flirting with another guy at the bar."

That statement took Jennifer by surprise. No matter what differences she'd had with Sami over the years, she never would have pegged her as being unfaithful. In fact, she'd almost venture that Sami's biggest fault, if indeed you could call it a fault, was her undying loyalty to those she loved. "That doesn't sound like Sami."

"No it doesn't. But it's true. She was with another guy. She claimed it was innocent, but I just couldn't believe her."

Jennifer wondered briefly how much of his mistrust had to do with Sami's flirting as opposed to leftover hurt from the other women, like his ex-wife Nicole, who had screwed him over in the past. "So you saw her flirting and you broke up. I saw you two arrive at Alice's, but then you went your separate ways."

"She had car trouble. I just gave her a lift, nothing more."

"Then you met that other girl at Alice's. The brunette, the one who seemed to be all over you."

"Manda." Lucas said softly, wincing as he thought back to that night. In hindsight he wished he'd never gone to the opening.

"And you and Manda started seeing each other?"

"Not really. We danced, we flirted, we made out a bit."

"And?"

"And I brought her back to my place."

Jennifer frowned. "Let me guess, Sami saw the two of you?"

He nodded.

"And did you—?"

The question hung in the air. Lucas, who was still carrying around the baby, paused for a moment to place the now-sleeping infant back in the carriage, before answering.

"No."

Jennifer breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

"Since when did you become a Sami fan Jen?" Given Sami and Jennifer's past with Brandon he was surprised that Jennifer would have compassion for Sami.

"The day I realized that she puts a smile on your face. It was at the triple funeral last fall. You were standing with Will in the church and when she joined you two, you just suddenly looked complete. A perfect little family, if there is such a thing. And then again at Caroline Brady's service. You were her rock. Everyone could see that you two had grown closer." She paused to study his expression, debating whether or not to keep going. He seemed receptive to her comment so she pressed on. "Lucas you're in love with her and from what I've seen, she's in love with you. Obviously there's issues between you, but don't give up. True love is precious and rare. Some people go their whole lives and never find it."

Lucas moved back to the bench, seating himself next to her as she finished her statement. "And some have it ripped away far too soon. Jen, Sami and I are not the same as you and Jack. You two were soul mates, destined to be together."

"As are you and Sami. Lucas don't give up on your love."

"I don't know how to fix it. I don't think at this point, it can be fixed." He insisted sincerely.

Jennifer smiled wistfully. "Then don't try to fix it. If there's one thing I've learned it's that you can deny love all you want, but if it's meant to be it'll happen. But you can't force it. It takes time." Her mind raced back through various moments she'd spent with Jack. They'd overcome so many obstacles along the way to achieving happiness. Obstacles that had seemed insurmountable at the time, but ultimately only strengthened their bond. Despite how it all turned out, she wouldn't trade a second of that time.

Lucas moved his head dejectedly, unconvinced that he and Sami could ever reconcile.. "No. I think fate has passed us by. We had our chance and we blew it. I just have to accept that Sami and I were never meant to be."

Jennifer shook her head at her stubborn brother. She couldn't scold him because after all hadn't she once felt the same about her relationship with Jack? She knew that nothing she could say could magically make things better. All she could do was offer her heartfelt advice. "Never say never. It's not up to you to decide Lucas. For all you know, the answer to your problems with Sami could be standing outside your door at this very moment."

Lucas pondered her words, admiring the fact that she could remain upbeat about fate when it had so cruelly torn her husband away from her.

At the same moment across town, Sami had just settled back down to her studies with a glass of iced tea when she heard a knock at her door. Not expecting any visitors she curiously made her way over and peeked through the peephole of her door. As she looked at who was standing on the other side she shrieked. "OMIGOD!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"Omigod!" Sami screamed happily as she threw open the door and embraced the young woman standing in the hallway. "I can't believe you're here!" Questions sprang forth in her mind, fast and furious. Excited, she verbally pummeled her old friend. "Omigod! It's been so many years! I mean you left Salem way back in '96 for college and never came back! What have you been up to? Did you ever marry that guy you wrote to me about?" She paused for a moment and looked her old friend over. "My goodness Jamie, look at you! You're still just as pretty as you always were. Oh you have to come in and tell me everything. You are back for a while right? Will's away at camp right now but he'll be so excited to meet you again. He's always asking me why he hasn't seen his godmother in years."

Jamie laughed at Sami's exuberance. It was quite apparent that Sami's zeal for life hadn't really changed. She wondered briefly if her friend still went after everything she wanted with the same old single-minded determination. Taking a deep breath she smiled, biting her lip slightly. "I'm not quite sure where to begin..."

"Oh I'm being so rude. Come in, sit down. I'll get you something to drink. What would you like, coffee, tea, soda?

Jamie grinned. "Tea would be great. Do you still keep Lemon Zinger around?"

"Of course." Sami replied with a smile. Pointing to the couch she instructed her old friend to have a seat while she put the kettle on.

Jamie sat down and glanced curiously around the apartment. The place was definitely a home. She could see little signs of Sami everywhere. From the knickknacks that covered virtually every shelf to the various pictures on the walls and mantle. One particular picture drew her gaze immediately. Standing up she walked over to the bureau by the door and lifted a small wooden frame. It was a photo of Sami and Lucas and a boy, obviously Will, and they appeared to be on a camping trip. Lightly, she traced her finger across the people on the photograph. A small smile crossed her face as she touched the image of Lucas. He was still as handsome, if not even more handsome than ever. Fingering Will's image she let out a gasp of delight. "Sami! Will looks so tall!"

Sami beamed proudly as she joined Jamie in admiring the picture. "He is. And he's even taller than that now. Lucas and I figure he'll pass us both within a year. I'm wondering just how'll I'll be able to order him to clean his room once he towers over me." Sami chuckled and then added. "That photograph was taken back in February. We were camping with Will's class."

"You guys look really happy in it, despite the fact that you were camping in the middle of winter." Jamie mused. "So does this mean that you and Lucas are together?"

Sami's face clouded briefly before she forced a smile back onto her lips. "We're not a couple, but we parent as a team. Will's happiness means everything to us." She hoped she'd been successful in hiding her feelings from her old friend. The last thing she wanted right now as another inquisition into why she and Lucas had failed in their attempt to have a relationship. "In fact, Lucas lives just down the hall from me. We have joint custody so Will splits his time between apartments. It's not the ideal situation, I mean obviously Will wishes we all lived together under one roof, but compared to how we used to be it's a big improvement."

"Oh that's great that you two get along now. I remember when you wrote to me and told me about your custody issues. I wished I could have been back here at the time to help you guys work through everything, but—."

"But sometimes life gets in the way. It's okay Jamie. I understood. You had your own dragons to slay." Sami finished for her as she carried the teapot and cups into the living room. Setting the teacups down, she carefully poured the steaming liquid into both before sitting down. Taking a sip she eyed her old friend as she wandered around the room before returning to the sofa. Now that the initial shock of seeing her was over Sami observed her closely. Jamie was dressed in a flowery calf length short sleeved, loose fitting summer dress. Two narrow yellow ribbons, attached at the back wrapped around either side of her and were tied in a loose bow just below her breasts. Sami recalled wearing an outfit very similar back when she was pregnant with Will. _Wait a minute…_ She continued to watch as Jamie sat down on the sofa and took a sip of tea. Sami's eyes lit up knowingly as her old friend's free hand absently patted her abdomen. With a smile she queried. "So your dress is really nice. Where did you get it?"

Jamie looked up and met the amusement in Sami's knowing eyes. Wryly she replied. "I never could keep anything a secret from you for very long."

"Well you managed to hide a few things." Sami replied pointedly, referring to the problems Jamie had with her sexually abusive father.

"It's easy to hide something from everyone if you're in complete denial about it to yourself." Jamie explained. "How could I tell you when I couldn't even admit to myself what was happening."

Sami sighed. One of her biggest regrets when it came to her friendship with Jamie is that she'd been so wrapped up in her own problems that she'd never noticed the signs of what was happening to Jamie at home. "Jamie, I know this is probably years too late, but I really am sorry—."

Jamie held up her hand. "Stop. Like you said, we each had our own demons. And honestly, if you'd confronted me, I would have just denied it."

"Like you did with Billie, only she knew better. She recognized what was happening and got help."

"Anyhow." Jamie interrupted in an attempt to change the topic. Revisiting the past was inevitable, she knew that when she made plans to return to Salem, but she really didn't want to start on her first day back with Sami.

"Anyhow." Sami repeated. "You didn't come here to drudge all of that up." She nodded understandingly. Raising her brow she again examined her friend. "So how far along are you?"

Jamie smiled "About five months."

Sami's face broke into a wide grin. "You must be so thrilled!" Leaving her chair she joined her old friend on the couch and gave her a quick hug. Reaching down she pulled Jamie's left hand into hers, instantly feeling the rings on her friend's third finger. "And your _husband_ must be thrilled."

Jamie's eyes darkened and filled with tears causing Sami to gasp.

"Did I say something wrong?" Holding Jamie's hand out, Sami looked pointedly at the rings. "You _are_ married right?"

Jamie fought to regain her composure. "I'm sorry. You'd think after three and a half months I'd be able to do this without crying each time…"

Sami was speechless. After going through so many deaths in the past year, it was inconceivable to her that there could be more bad news. "Omigod… Is he? I mean, what happened?"

Jamie took a deep breath and began to explain. "We tried so hard to have this baby. I mean, after everything my father did to me when I was young, the doctors weren't even sure if I'd be able to conceive. We tried and tried, for nearly four years and then one day I came home from the doctor's office with good news." She paused, caught up in the memory. "I called Lee. That is, I mean was my husband's name. You were right Sami, I did marry that guy I wrote to you about."

Sami nodded, recognizing the name of Jamie's college boyfriend from her infrequent letters.

Standing up, Jamie paced around the room as she continued to explain. "I called him at the office. I wanted to wait until that night to surprise him, but as soon as I heard his voice I had to tell him." Pausing, she turned and looked down at Sami. "He was so happy. I mean, all we ever talked about from almost the day we met was getting married and having a family. He was an only child and he said he'd always dreamed of being surrounded by a big loving family."

"Jamie, what happened?" Sami asked gently, cringing inside as she waited for the answer she knew was coming.

"He stopped at a little booth along the side of the highway. You know, one of those vendors that sell to the tourists all the time?"

Sami nodded.

With a wistful smile Jamie added. "He bought me flowers. He was always doing that. He picked out a dozen pink roses. He told the guy he bought them from that he was going to be a dad and that he just knew it would be a little girl."

"Jamie, what happened next." Sami coaxed softly, sensing the overwhelming pain her friend was going through as she relived that day.

"Well according to the witnesses..." She trailed off briefly. "According to the witnesses at the vendor's booth, Lee got in his car and went to turn back onto the highway. He didn't see the semi-trailer barreling around the corner until it was too late. His car was hit on the driver's side and he was killed instantly."

Sami gasped as tears began to flow from her eyes. "Oh Jamie I'm so sorry." Standing up she pulled her old friend into her arms. Grieving for what they had each lost in the past year they stood, clinging to each other as their river of tears continued to flow.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"Hey bro. What's up?" Lucas called to his brother Phillip as the young man jogged across the park to meet him. Lucas had just finished saying good-bye to Jennifer and Hart when his cell phone had rung. After enquiring about his whereabouts Phillip had instructed Lucas to stay put because he'd be there in ten minutes.

"Thanks for staying." Phillip nodded tersely.

Lucas was taken aback by his brother's demeanor. Lately it seemed he'd been the one in the perpetually sour mood while his younger brother had been his usual relaxed self. "What's wrong? You look like you just lost your best friend."

"I think I did." Phillip replied morosely.

"I take it something happened with Belle?" Lucas asked knowingly. Besides Chloe, the only person who ever had much effect on his brother's mood was Belle Black.

Phillip nodded but didn't elaborate further, leaving Lucas to attempt to fill in the gaps.

"But I thought you and Belle were getting along well? Well enough to live together."

"We did live together but as of today I'm no longer her roommate." Phillip muttered bitterly.

"What?" Lucas replied. He couldn't even begin to imagine what had changed the circumstances with Phillip and Belle. After all, their relationship appeared to be running so smoothly and Belle wasn't exactly known for her ability to live independently. "But you two seemed perfect for each other; similar backgrounds and interests. You're totally in to her and it looked like she was finally getting over Shawn."

Phillip's eyes narrowed at the mention of Shawn Brady. Despite their blood tie Phillip and Shawn hadn't seen eye to eye on most things in the past year and today's developments with Phillip's nephew hadn't helped matters any. "Shawn _is_ the problem."

Lucas was confused. Sure he hadn't spent a lot of time following the trials and tribulations of Salem's early twenty-somethings but he was aware that Shawn had walked out on Belle and hadn't been seen in months. "But I thought that Shawn was gone for good. Didn't he run off and join the Merchant Marines or something?"

Phillip huffed disgustedly. "That's what we all thought, but guess who turned up out the blue this morning?"

Lucas nodded slowly, suddenly understanding his brother's sullen mood. "So what's his story? Where the hell has he been all these months?"

Phillip rolled his eyes. "You won't believe it. He _claims_ that Jan Spears has held him prisoner in a metal cage for the past three months!"

"What the hell? Jan Spears? Isn't that the nutcase who got knocked up by Nicole's father after he raped her when you guys were in Puerto Rico?" Lucas asked, tentatively, trying to recall the stories that Phillip had told him after he recovered from his coma. Before the fire, he hadn't really paid much attention to his younger brother because he'd been too preoccupied with regaining custody of Will and making Sami's life a living hell.

"Yes it is." Phillip answered, frowning at the unpleasant memories that Lucas' mention of Puerto Rico had dug up. That trip had taken place the summer he lost Chloe to his other grown up nephew, Brady. Making a mental note to never let Will near his future girlfriends he continued. "And you're right. She is a nut case, but I find it hard to believe that she managed to capture and trap Shawn for three months."

"So if Shawn was held captive, how did he escape? Or did Jan let him go and just why the hell would she have kidnapped him anyway?" The possible questions were endless and for once Lucas was glad to have something to dwell on other than his own misery over Sami.

Phillip chuckled cynically. "Shawn claims that Jan was obsessed with him and tricked him into her trap. _Apparently_ he managed to escape by finally giving in and having sex with her. He said that he waited until she nodded off in their afterglow and then he grabbed the keys and got out. Of course I can't help but wonder how many times he had to screw her before he figured out _that_ escape plan."

"He slept with her?" Lucas' eyes widened. Belle and Shawn's purity rings had been the topic of discussion on more than one occasion. Lucas had just assumed that Shawn was gay, given that he had continually resisted the advances of Sami's cute little sister. If it had been him and Sami in the same position he knew his resolve would have lasted for all of ten seconds. "But if he slept with Jan, then he broke his vow to Belle. Why are you upset? You should be jumping for joy. There's no way Belle will forgive him."

"Wrong." Phillip retorted with more than a hint of resentment. "She's claiming it doesn't count, since Shawn did it to save his life

Finally Lucas understood why his brother was so upset. "So she forgave him and welcomed him back, essentially pushing you out the door." Biting his lip he paused and studied his brother's expression. "So Shawn's back and you're out. Did she actually kick you out?"

"Not in so many words." Phillip hissed angrily. "But she may as well have." Sarcastically he added. "How would you take it if Sami for example, were to hook up with Brandon again and then turn to you and say _Thanks for being such a wonderful friend Lucas_."

Lucas winced uncomfortably at the imagery, disturbed by how angry the thought of Sami back with Brandon made him, even if it was just used as an example by his brother. "Oh that's cold."

"Yeah. Well that's Belle." Phillip scowled before turning and walking a few feet away from his older sibling. As he stared off across the park he emphatically stated. "I'm done with her."

Lucas didn't quite know what to say. He'd said the exact same phrase about Sami just two months ago. _Ah but that was different Lucas, wasn't it? You'll never be done with Sami_. Shaking his head to ward off the annoying little voice that continually pestered him he looked over at his brother. "So do you need a place to stay? Is that why you called?"

Phillip shook his head. "No. Rex and Mimi decided to take pity on me. They're letting me take over Shawn's old room in their loft. Belle decided that she'd never going to let Shawn out of her sight from now on. She's leaving for Paris in two weeks any way and now Shawn will be joining her. I can't stay at her loft because Nicole is kicking Brady out and he wants to move back in. There's no way in hell I can be _his_ roommate."

Lucas nodded his head in understanding and then grinned as he pictured his brother Rex's girlfriend. "Mimi will help you. It's impossible to stay in a bad mood around her."

Phillip had to smile at that. "You're right. But right now I'm really not in the mood to be happy which is why I called you."

"Hey!" Lucas protested.

Phillip simply started at him with an arched brow.

"You're the third person to imply that I'm not a ray of sunshine to be around today." Lucas muttered, his irritation showing.

"Third?"

"First Ginny and then Jennifer." Lucas mumbled as a frown creased his forehead. "I mean I'm not _that_ bad. Am I?"

"Ginny?" Phillip asked, suddenly very interested. "Is that your new _friend? _And for the record bro, you've been depressing to be around for the past two months."

"Yes she's my friend. You'd like her. I should introduce the two of you some time soon." With a gleam in his eye Lucas added. "I bet she could make you forget all about Isabella Black."

"Yeah right." Phillip harrumphed. "Anyhow, you said she wouldn't date you because you're damaged goods so what makes you think she'd want to go out with me. Wouldn't she consider me the same as you?"

"It's not the same." Lucas insisted. "You only think that Belle was the love of your life. You talked yourself into that relationship. You haven't met your soul mate yet."

Phillip stared incredulously at Lucas. "What the hell does that mean? Of course Belle was my soul mate."

"No." Lucas stated firmly. "She wasn't. You only think she was. Trust me, if she were meant for you you'd be over there fighting for her right now, not here whining to me."

"Oh like you've been fighting for Sami this whole time?" Phillip retorted quickly.

"Sami and I are a completely different story. I did fight for her; for over a year and look where it got me." Lucas argued.

"Yeah it left you too stubborn to admit that you were wrong about her that night at the Blue Note." Phillip shook his head at his brother. "After you saw her harmlessly flirting with that assistant DA you worked yourself into a jealous rage. You gave her that ridiculous ultimatum and when she didn't do exactly as you wanted you compounded the problem by picking up that little slutty nurse Manda the next night at Alice's. You came this close." Phillip held his index and middle fingers up for Lucas to see. "This close to sleeping with her and ruining things with Sami forever."

"Gee Phillip, tell me how you really feel about it why don't you?" Lucas muttered sarcastically. "What is it with my siblings today? Aren't any of you on my side? Since when did you and Jennifer become co-chairmen of the Sami Brady fan club? I told you. I'm done with Sami. She can do whatever she wants now, it's her life."

Phillip groaned in frustration at his obstinate brother. "We're not Sami's biggest fans, not by any means, but you have to admit it Lucas. The two of you are far better when you're together than when you're apart and I might add your son is a helluva lot happier when you two are together. I just wish you'd stop being so damn stubborn and go home and fix things with her before it's too late."

Lucas head snapped up at his brother's last comment. "What do you mean too late? Has she met someone else already?"

Phillip shook his head wryly. "You know, you sure don't sound like a man who doesn't give a damn about what she does or rather _who_ she does anymore."

Lucas' eyes flashed angrily. "You didn't answer my question. Has she met someone?"

Phillip chuckled, his sorrow over Belle momentarily forgotten as he shamelessly needled Lucas. "Well she hasn't said outright that she's met someone new, but you know it's only a matter of time." Seeing Lucas tense at his words he dug a little deeper. "Face it bro, she's a hot babe and once she starts at Salem U, the guys will be lining up to take her out. Sure she says right now that you're irreplaceable, but she hasn't seen who else is out there. What are you going to do when some smart, good-looking and charming young professor decides to start dating her? Sami's only ever been with you and the two tweedles. She's never been swept off her feet with romance. Are you prepared to see her out with a nice, normal yuppie? Someone charming and sophisticated?"

"Tweedles?" Lucas asked in confusion.

"Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Austin and Brandon." Phillip clarified dryly.

"You forgot about the Italian Stallion." Lucas murmured sullenly. "_He_ romanced her."

Phillip's lips twitched. His message had obviously begun to sink in. _Now if I can just get the fool to go home and fix things._ "Well, I'd say any romancing that Franco did was cancelled out by the fact that he was sleeping with strippers the whole time. Besides, Franco was too flashy. I'm talking about a nice, conservative young man, you know, the kind of man that Mom wishes we'd both be. In fact I saw one hitting on her at the restaurant last weekend while I waited for her shift to finish. I think his name was Brad." The last part was a blatant lie, but since he was finally starting to get through to his brother he wasn't about to give up now. "You know Lucas if it were me I'd be racing home to make up with her before it's too late."

Lucas felt a sense of panic overtake him. There was no way in hell that he was going to let this "Brad" get anywhere near Sami. _Dammit, she's mine and by god she's going to know that by the end of tonight._ "Phillip I have to go. I know you wanted to talk about Belle—."

Phillip waved him off. "No I don't. Not anymore. I'm not kidding. I'm done talking about her. Go see Sami." He practically pushed Lucas towards his bike as the words tumbled out.

Lucas nodded his head in agreement as he pulled on his helmet. With a quick wave he mounted his bike and raced off for home.

Phillip let out a small laugh as he watched his panic stricken brother leave. He knew he really shouldn't have lied about the mythical Brad, but if it helped reconcile those two fools then so much the better.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Lucas pedaled across Salem as fast as his muscular legs would go. _I have to see her. I have to tell her what a fool I've been. _He grinned as he imagined her reaction. She'd be stunned and disbelieving at first but then she'd see the sincerity in his eyes, the love in his heart and she'd melt. They'd be back together; he'd propose within a week, they'd be married by Thanksgiving and maybe even have another baby on the way by Christmas. His smiled widened as he imagined their future life. After all of the pain and heartbreak they'd been through, they'd finally catch a break, finally be happy, finally give their son the family he always dreamed of and truly deserved.

Across town Sami sat alone on the sofa, hugging Mr. Fuzzy, still stunned by Jamie's visit. When she woke up this morning she couldn't have predicted how this day would turn out. She'd had no inkling of the range of emotions that she'd experience within just a few hours. From the elation of finding out that her stepfather was going to help her out financially, to the raw pain of cutting her foot, to the breathless excitement of realizing that Lucas still cared about her, to the thrill of seeing an old friend after a long absence and finally to the sadness of realizing that life, despite brief appearances to the contrary, was still ultimately full of sadness and despair.

Holding Mr. Fuzzy in front of her she sighed as she began to talk to the bear. "It's just not fair Mr. Fuzzy. Jamie's childhood was so terrible and she's been through so much pain. Why did her husband have to die? Why was he taken from her on a day that should have been one of the happiest of her life? Why does this child have to grow up without her father?"

Curling herself into a ball she snuggled into the corner of the sofa. It was a familiar position for her, comfortable even. Ever since her grandmother had been murdered the previous autumn, she'd spent many days just sitting there, her arms wrapped protectively around her so as to ward off more pain. Her grandmother's death had been traumatic enough, but to lose her father within a couple of months was almost more than she had been able to bear. Luckily she'd had Lucas by her side. She whimpered slightly at the thought of her lost love. She'd been so close to finally having happiness with him and she'd blown it. _It just proves that there is no such thing as love and happiness, at least not for those in my life._ She cried softly as she recalled how wonderful Lucas had been after her father died: _Even after he lost his grandmother, he still chose to stay and help me_. _Even after finding out that my mother, Marlena Evans of all people, caused so much pain. After all of that he still stayed. Then you blew it Sami. You knew it was a risk, but you just had to bring down Kate. All Lucas wanted was to love you and you wouldn't let him._ Her tears grew in intensity as she spiraled down into a seemingly bottomless pit of despair. Tear after tear continued to fall until finally she cried herself into a fitful slumber.

Lucas stood silently, watching Sami's agitated movements on the sofa. Slowly he leaned down and picked up the stuffed bear that had evidently fallen out of her arms. Holding it in front of him he softly asked it. "What happened Mr. Fuzzy? Why is she so upset?" He'd arrived back at their building only a few moments ago. Taking time only to have a five minute shower and change, he'd headed to her place. When she hadn't opened the door he used his key, for the second time that day to let himself in.

He ached to reach out and stroke her flax colored hair, to brush his fingers over her creamy skin, comforting her, protecting her, loving her. He knew he couldn't risk it. He knew she'd be upset enough by his uninvited presence in her apartment, let alone the wrath he'd face if she awakened to find his hands on her. So instead, he moved to the opposite end of the sofa and gently lowered himself onto it, careful not to wake her. From his new vantage point he could see her face better. Her eyes were dark rimmed and puffy, as though she'd been crying for quite some time. He was very familiar with the look of Sami in pain. So many times he'd been the cause of it so he couldn't help but wonder if her tears were because of him again.

Closing his eyes he leaned his head back and expelled a breath. "Baby, I'm so sorry. I've been such a fool."

Sami startled at the sound of his voice. Realizing that she'd fallen asleep, she stole a quick glance at him, blinking her eyes back shut before he could notice her movement. _What is he doing here?_ Never one to let a good eavesdropping opportunity slip by she kept her eyes closed, feigning sleep while he continued to ramble quietly.

"Sami I want us to have a fresh start. These past two months have been hell. Hell for me and hell for you. I need you in my life. I know we've both made mistakes, but the only thing that's really keeping us apart now is our pride. Please baby, please say you'll try to make this work with me. I miss you. I love you."

Sami was torn. She so badly wanted to open her eyes and throw herself into his arms. To let him hold her and fix everything. _Who are you kidding Sami? He can't fix everything that's wrong._ "Lucas." His name broke the silence of the apartment.

He turned and looked down into her bloodshot blue eyes. "Sami."

She smiled tentatively. "Lucas why are you here?"

He hesitated, not sure if she'd heard any of his little speech. "Sami, I—."

"I love you too." She whispered, her voice hoarse from crying.

Lucas felt a smile begin to spread across his face.

She stopped him with a quick shake of her head. "But we can't do this. I can't do this again." As she saw the pain and confusion flash across his face she began to quietly sob. "It hurts too much when it ends and it always ends. I can't do that again. I can't torture myself by having it all taken away… never again…"

"Sami." Lucas croaked weakly, the anguish apparent in his face. "Please. Baby…"

"I'm sorry." She gasped as she sat up and pulled herself off the sofa. Running towards her bedroom she called back to him. "I'm so sorry Lucas. I just can't."

The door to her room shut with a sickening thud. A sound that to Lucas sounded like the gates of hell slamming shut; trapping him inside. "Why?" He called out softly to the empty room. "Why Sami?"

"I think I may be able to shed some light on that."

He turned towards the soft feminine voice that came from the doorway. Unbelieving he blinked several times to be sure he wasn't imagining it. "Jamie?"

Carrying her suitcase with her into the apartment she set it down and then pointed to the sofa. "Have a seat. I think I may be able to help explain what just happened here."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Jamie sat at the kitchen counter and watched in fascination as Lucas deftly navigated his way through Sami's kitchen cupboards, seemingly very familiar with their contents. After his initial shock of seeing his old friend he'd asked her if she could check on Sami, while he prepared dinner. Jamie returned from Sami's bedroom after realizing that her friend had quickly cried herself to sleep. After Lucas turned down her offer of assistance she sat down at the counter and filled him in on what she'd just finished telling Sami. Lucas had been horrified to hear what Jamie had been through, but also somewhat relieved. Her story explained Sami's drastic reaction to his words. He'd taken a deep breath and relaxed somewhat, knowing that what Sami really needed at the the moment was just some time and space to sort out her jumbled emotions. At least, he hoped that was all she needed. He desperately wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and only her. He could only pray that once she sorted through her feelings she came to the same conclusion. Turning to Jamie as he stirred the pasta sauce he asked tentatively.

"So you think she'll be okay?"

Jamie smiled. "Are you asking my professional opinion or my personal one?"

Lucas' brow arched. "Professional? Don't tell me you became a shrink! Does Sami know?"

Jamie laughed. "I'm not a psychiatrist. I have my PhD. in Psychology. I work at a college on the west coast. And yes Sami knows, I told her this afternoon."

Lucas chuckled. "I'll bet _that_ thrilled her to no end."

"She took it pretty well." Jamie grinned. "We made a deal. I can stay with her as long I want but I had to promise her that I won't analyze her every word."

"So you're a psych prof. Do you guys still run little experiments on the freshmen students every chance you get?" Lucas smirked, remembering the psych class he took during his brief stay at Salem U years ago.

"Hey!" She protested. "We don't experiment on them unless they're willing!"

Lucas smirked. "Really? Well what exactly do you call cramming 400 students into a lecture theatre that holds only 300?"

Jamie deadpanned. "My school's not that bad. We only try to squeeze in 350."

Lucas laughed. "Nice. So what made you go into psychology? I guess I never bothered to ask you what your future plans were when you lived in Salem." The realization made him feel a bit sheepish. He'd been blind to so many things years ago.

Jamie noticed his slightly flushed skin and averted eyes. Reaching out she placed her hand on his and gave him a gentle squeeze. "It's okay Lucas. I always knew that your mind was only on one person, even when you didn't realize it."

"I wish you'd told me." He murmured softly. "I mean about my fixation with Sami. I might have actually done something about it if I'd been more conscious of it." He trailed off, his mind occupied with images of how different the past decade would have been if only he'd been able to admit to himself earlier that he'd fallen in love with his blonde angel.

With a gentle smile Jamie replied. "Well I sort of wanted you for myself, so pointing out to you that you should be directing your energies towards Sami rather than her big sister wasn't exactly in my best interest." With a shrug of her shoulders she added. "Lucas we all made a lot of mistakes back then. I mean look at me. I was going through hell at home and I kept it quiet. I should have told someone, anyone, years earlier."

Lucas nodded. "We would have helped you get away from there. You know that right?" Letting out a sigh he continued. "I just wish that Sami and I both hadn't been so preoccupied with our own lives to see what was happening to you."

Jamie flashed another smile. "It's okay Lucas. Everything worked out in the end."

"Yeah, but you ended up leaving Salem."

"I had to. My mom kicked me out and although I loved living with the Brady's at the pub, they weren't my family and I felt like I was imposing. I needed to make a fresh start so I headed to school on the coast. And I wasn't completely alone. I moved to the same place as Sami's aunts Kim and Kayla. Kimberly helped me a lot, in fact she's the person who encouraged me to take this career route."

"I'm glad you weren't alone." He let out a sigh of relief. She seemed happy enough with how things had turned out after she left Salem, so perhaps it had been the best move for her. "You mentioned your mom. Does she still live here?"

Jamie shook her head. "I haven't spoken to her in years, but I hear she's living in Florida now."

"What about your sister?" He paused, trying to remember the young woman's name. "Heather right?"

Jamie's smile disappeared at the sound of her sister's name. "She followed me to the coast, but whereas I took what had happened to me and turned it into something positive, she didn't. She never recovered from what Dad had done and she turned to drugs. I lost her to the streets." She paused, trying to regain the composure that she was desperately clinging to. The subject of her sister never failed to make her upset. "The last I heard she was _working_ on the streets of Los Angeles."

Lucas cringed, knowing full well what she'd meant. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks." She spoke softly and watched as he briefly turned his attention back to the dinner he was preparing. He quickly drained the pasta and added the remaining ingredients for his casserole. They remained in a comfortable silence while he continued the preparations. Finally as he placed the casserole in the oven he turned to her and motioned to the sofa. "It'll be in for about 45 minutes. Let's go sit down and catch up some more."

Jamie grinned. "Sure. You can tell me all about you and Sami and Will of course."

Lucas looked a bit surprised. "I thought Sami filled you in on everything!"

With a shake of her head she replied. "We have years to catch up on. She covered the basics, you know about what happened with her grandmother and her parents. I'm sorry by the way Lucas, really sorry about your Grandma and your Aunt Maggie."

Lucas' face clouded momentarily in sorrow as he thought about those two very important women. "Thanks. I still miss them very much." He paused and looked at her again. "What exactly did she tell you about us?" He was quite curious to see how Sami described their topsy-turvy relationship.

Jamie gave him an enigmatic smile. "Well I'll give you my _personal _opinion, as a friend. Let's just say that Sami was less than forthcoming when the subject turned to you. I got the feeling that she loves you and also that she knows she loves you, but doesn't quite know what to do."

Lucas chuckled ruefully. "Yeah that sums it up pretty nicely. Our relationship is basically indescribable."

"You seem more open about your feelings than her."

His shoulders slumped as he let out a big sigh. "For the most part I am. I love her, plain and simple. I want to spend the rest of my life loving her."

"And you've told her that." Jamie coaxed.

Another sigh. "I have. Today was the first time in two months, but yes before we broke up I tried to tell her. She just kept pushing me away. At the time I was hurt. I thought she didn't love me, that she was just using me to get revenge on my mother. But now I know the truth. She was scared of her feelings and what she really needed was just some time and space and instead of giving her that I pressured her..." He trailed off as he walked over to the bureau by the door and picked up the framed photograph that Jamie had been admiring earlier. His voice catching with emotion he continued. "I pressured her and she reacted by pushing me away even more. I should have known when I saw her with that guy..."

Jamie's ears perked at his words. "A guy?"

"An assistant district attorney. I caught her talking to him at the Blue Note." He paused to explain. "The Blue Note is a bar that Brady Black, Sami's stepbrother owns."

"Brady owns a bar? Is he even old enough to drink?" His words had startled her. She could have sworn that Brady was just a small child when she'd lived here before. _Well, it is Salem. Children always seem to grow up faster here than anywhere else._

Lucas could tell what she was thinking. With a grin he told her. "You think that's bad, just wait until you see Phillip and Belle."

Jamie's eyes lit up at the prospect of seeing Sami's little sister and Lucas' little brother. She couldn't wait to see how they'd turned out after all of these years. "So you were saying about Sami and some guy at the Blue Note?"

"Yeah, she told me that she was going to bed so I went to the Blue Note for dinner with my mom. When we got there we spotted Sami flirting with a tall dark haired guy at the bar. In hindsight, I know I over-reacted, but at the time I was just so jealous."

"So you were jealous and you confronted her?"

He grimaced as he thought back to their argument at the bar. He'd been so hurt and he'd demanded that she leave with him. _If only I could go back and change my reaction. Oh who am I kidding? When have my reactions to Sami ever been anything but passionate? _"I did and she said no. I left and the next day we sent Will off to camp for the summer and agreed not to see each other until September."

Jamie's lips twitched with mirth. "Somehow I don't think you two sat down and came to a mutual decision to not see each other anymore."

Lucas smiled slightly. "When Sami and I do things we throw everything we have into it, be it loving or fighting. We fought and fought badly. Then we went to the grand opening of a new country bar that my Uncle Mickey financed."

Jamie gave him a puzzled look. "You went _together?"_

"Her car wouldn't start that night. She'd been having trouble with it on and off ever since she and John collided the night my grandmother was killed." He shook his head to ward off more unpleasant memories. At her questioning look he added. "But that's a story for another dinner. Anyway, I gave her a ride and then we went out separate ways. I hooked up with another woman..."

"Oh no." Jamie winced, picturing Sami's reaction to that occurrence. "I can just imagine how well she _didn't_ take that happening."

He let out a grunt. "It wasn't pretty. And I didn't help things and neither did my mom, but then she never does." His reference to Kate came across bitterly and caught Jamie's interest. In her conversation with Sami that afternoon Lucas' mother had been mentioned frequently and never with pleasantness. For now she was more concerned about her two friends and let his comment about Kate pass, making a mental note to follow up on the subject later.

"So you met another woman. Did you date her?" Jamie asked curiously. Sami had alluded to another woman being in the scene but hadn't elaborated and with everything else that they'd covered the detail had seemed minor at the moment.

"I took her home that night."

"Uh-oh."

"I didn't sleep with her, if that's what you're thinking. She was willing, believe me, but I couldn't go through with it. We ended up just talking for a while and then I took her home. Unfortunately Sami saw me with her in the hall and just assumed..."

Jamie filled in the gaps. "She assumed that you'd slept with this woman. Did you correct her assumption?"

Lucas frowned, waging an internal battle with himself. He knew he'd hurt her terribly by letting her think that he'd been with another woman, but he'd been so hurt himself that he hadn't been able to reason clearly. With a quick shake of his head he replied. "No."

Jamie couldn't say she was surprised. Lucas and Sami had both always been rather fond of drastic reactions. "But she must have found out eventually right?"

He nodded. "Mimi, that's Belle's best friend and our brother Rex's girlfriend—."

"Wait a minute. You said _our_ brother?"

Lucas smirked. "I like to do that just to see people react. Rex is the son of my mother and Sami's father. He had a twin named Cassie but she was killed along with the others last year. Again, it's a long story and it'll take another dinner just to explain it all."

Jamie laughed. Life in Salem had never been without its share of unusual complications. She was happy to see that nothing had really changed while she'd been away. "So Mimi, the girlfriend of your and Sami's brother..."

"Yeah, Mimi found out the truth and told Rex and Rex of course told Sami." At Jamie's confused look he explained. "Rex and Sami get along better than Rex and I do."

"Oh." She said, implying that she understood when in fact she was more confused than ever. "I suppose that's _also_ a subject that will take up a dinner?"

Lucas grinned. "You could say that. In fact I'd say we have enough catching up to do to last for the rest of the year of dinners. So much has happened since you moved away."

"It's worse than a soap opera by the sounds of it."

"Sometimes it is, it really is." Lucas agreed. "So speaking of the rest of the year, when is the baby due and are you back in Salem for good?"

Giving him another enigmatic smile she answered. "The baby's due in the third week of December and yes I'm back for good. Sami offered Will's room to me for the next two weeks while he's still at camp. She mentioned that between her place and yours she's sure we can work it so I stay with you guys for the rest of my pregnancy. She said she doesn't want me to go through this alone. But I really don't want to impose—."

Lucas held up his hand. "No she's right. You shouldn't be going through this alone. Besides, between both apartments we do have room. Will sleeps wherever he feels like it most nights and I'm sure he wouldn't mind picking one room and letting you have the other for a few months. The kid seems to forever be away on sleepovers anyway." He chuckled, knowing full well that Will's numerous sleepovers were motivated more by Will wanting his parents to be free to be together rather than a desire to spend time at his friends' houses.

"Well if you're sure..."

"Of course!" He insisted and then walked back over to the kitchen to check on the casserole in the oven. "This will be a while yet. I'll just make the salad quickly and then let's grab a drink and I'll tell you another story."

Jamie nodded. "Okay." Turning her back to him she smiled to herself as she flipped through a photo album that Sami had left on the coffee table. Spotting a photo of Lucas and Sami from their younger, happier days as best friends she couldn't help but feel a bit relieved. Things between the pair now were rough, but not unfixable. With a little time and patience and her guidance everything would work out between the two and her plan would fall perfectly into place...


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Sami slowly became conscious as a familiar pair of lips trailed across her cheek and down her neck. She practically purred at his touch, closing her eyes tighter, afraid that it was only a dream and that she'd wake up far too soon. She heard his soft chuckle. "You like that honey?"

Eyes still tightly shut, she murmured appreciatively. "You know I do. Don't stop."

"As you wish." He whispered as his lips descended to hers, capturing hers in a passionate kiss. As his tongue darted into her mouth and dueled with hers she let out a soft moan of contentment. Her hands sought his body, seeking his warm flesh. Frantically she tugged at his clothing, silently willing it to disappear. In the next instant she felt his naked skin against hers. "Fuck!" She screamed with annoyance as she broke their embrace. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

"Already?" He laughed. "Okay honey, you don't need to tell me more than once."

"No dammit!" She snapped irritably.

His brown eyes washed over her with concern. "What's wrong?"

"You!"

"Me?"

"You're not real."

He looked at her strangely, puzzled by her statement. "What do you mean? Of course I'm real."

"Oh it felt real alright and you had me convinced, right up until your clothes magically disappeared."

"You were tugging them off, don't you remember?"

"I may be fast, but not that fast. So unless you can explain how you instantly went from being fully clothed to fully unclothed, I'm sticking with my theory. This is all a dream. You're not really Lucas and you're not in my bed."

"Ah, but you want me to be Lucas. You _want_ Lucas in your bed." He nodded and smiled knowingly. "And for the record, you live in Salem. People have been known to get dressed in the blink of an eye, so why is it so improbable that they'd undress with the same speed."

"Shut up!" He was really starting to annoy her, in the same way that only the real Lucas could get to her. "Just go away!"

"You don't mean that." He smirked, crossing his arms in front of him as he looked at her.

She glared at him. Even in her dreams she couldn't escape that smug face. That all-knowing arrogance that knew exactly which buttons to press to get her worked up. _Oh just admit it Sami, you love the fact that he knows where all of your buttons are. Shut up! Her mind screamed at itself. Oh this is great, a third voice joined in. Now not only do you have multiple voices in your head, but you're **dreaming**__about the voices in your head. You know that must be a sign of dementia. Maybe you're crazy like your mother. SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU! Okay, the voices replied and promptly vanished. _

Sami woke with a start. "Dammit!" Throwing the covers off the bed in frustration she snatched her black robe from a nearby chair and pulled it on, muttering the whole time. "Damn Lucas Roberts. I can't even escape him while I'm sleeping." She stomped out of her bedroom, remembering her sleeping guest next door in Will's room just in time to stop the door from slamming behind her. Glancing at the clock she noted the time: 2:30 a.m. She'd slept for over eight hours. "Great." She mumbled irritably. "Now I'll be awake all night." Wandering over to the kitchen she pulled open the refrigerator door, pleasantly surprised to find leftovers from dinner. She recognized the casserole. "Lucas must have cooked." Never one to turn down his delicious cooking she pulled it out and quickly reheated a portion in the microwave.

As she pulled a fork out of the drawer and her bowl of food out of the microwave she noticed the moonlight streaming through the window. Grabbing a can of Diet Coke from the fridge she headed with it and her casserole over to the window and climbed out onto the fire escape. The cool August air washed over her as she slid down against the brick wall of her building. As she slowly ate her late dinner she looked around. Below she could see very few signs of activity on this sleepy Salem night. One cat, a pretty orange female tabby, quickly scurried across the street, followed seconds later by another, a pure black tomcat, each stopping occasionally to sneak a wary glance around, almost as if they sensed they were being watched. She chuckled softly at their actions as she saw the tabby turn and hiss angrily at the tomcat. This wasn't the first time she'd ever seen the pair. It seemed like every time she sat out here they were there. They'd lived in the neighborhood as long as she had and strangely enough, she couldn't recall ever seeing one without the other.

"He's always chasing her. She lets him catch her from time to time, but only for a moment before she turns on him and then runs."

The voice didn't startle her. She'd sensed him about 30 seconds before he said anything. "Maybe she's scared." She mused as she felt him slide down beside her. She hadn't looked at him yet, her eyes were still on the cats, which by this time seemed to almost be playing a game of hide and seek with each other in the shadows below. She didn't want to look at him yet. Remembering his words of love from earlier and her adverse reaction she suddenly found herself too shy to look into his dark knowing eyes. "Maybe she doesn't want to be caught. Maybe she's afraid that if she lets him too close for too long she'll like it too much and it'll just hurt even more when he leaves."

"Who says he'll leave? Maybe he just wants to stay with her." He stared at her, noticing that she was purposely avoiding his gaze.

She shook her head and smiled slightly as she continued to stare down at the street. "No. He's a tomcat. He needs his freedom. She might get him to stick around for awhile, but eventually he'll go, just like all of the others."

"Maybe he's different." He protested, knowing he wasn't just defending the black cat below. "Perhaps he's not like the other tomcats that have lived in the neighborhood."

"Well unless he's been neutered, I doubt it." Sami countered wryly. "After all, a tomcat is a tomcat. It's their nature to roam. Trying to tie him to one place would just make him unhappy." She stole a quick glance up at him as she said the last word, hoping he wouldn't catch her with his mesmerizing gaze.

"I think he's unhappy already. He just wants to be near her and she won't let him."

"Maybe she has other things she wants to do first. He's always there, right behind her. And before him, there were others around, remember?"

He nodded. "Oh yeah, there was that big one, the one that always looked a little stunned, almost as though he'd just run into a brick wall. Remember how the magpies used to tease and torment him? Carrying on right in front of him and he was too stupid to figure out what they were up to. And then that other one who looked a bit better than the first and seemed a bit smarter, but turned out to be a little violent and crazy. He was more hung up on that Siamese cat down the road anyway. The tabby is far better off without him."

Sami bit the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing. Instead she pressed on arguing on behalf of the orange tabby. "She is lucky that those two are gone. But why does she need the black tomcat anyway? Maybe she wants to see if she can survive without any of the tomcats for a change. You know, take care of herself and her kittens, bring home the mice on her own, and prove to all of the fat cats that she's capable of so much more than they ever gave her credit for."

"But there's no harm in him being there. He just wants to protect her, to keep her safe."

"And he can, from a distance I guess. But if he truly loves her and wants to be with her, can't he just wait until she's ready? Until she feels she can meet him as an equal."

"But doesn't she see that she is his equal? They just have different roles."

"Perhaps, but have you considered that maybe she doesn't have a good reason to trust? She's had a hard life. You've seen the fights she's been in over the years. Hell, sometimes she even fought with him." Sami shook her head sadly. "Those were the worst ones. She came away scarred and scared. I bet she's used up a few of her nine lives dealing with him."

"So did he."

"But no one ever blamed everything on him. It was always _her _fault. They'd get into scrapes together and she was the one who ended up being caught and punished. He always managed to get away just in time to slink home to his mean old momma cat."

"Sami…" Lucas murmured in a warning tone.

"What?"

"We both know this is about more than just those two alley cats below."

"Ya think?" Sami winked as she set her bowl of food down and stood up to lean against the railing.

Lucas shook his head as he stood up to join her. Leaning against the rail beside her he had an eerie sense of déjà vu. It seemed like only yesterday the pair had stood out on her fire escape after she'd managed to get herself stuck outside. They'd come so far since then, but in some ways it seemed like they were no further ahead. "Sami, is that what you want from me? Space? Time?" He spoke softly after a few moments of silence.

"Yes." She answered quietly after a moment's hesitation, relieved that he'd understood what she'd been trying to say. She shook her head at the irony of the situation. They'd broken up because they'd been unable to communicate properly. Unwilling to listen to each other, too scared to say what they were really feeling they'd allowed misunderstandings to wreck their blossoming relationship. Now, here they stood understanding each other perfectly without ever directly saying the words.

He let out a sigh of part relief and part frustration as he acknowledged her request. She still hadn't explained her reaction to his words of love earlier, but then again, maybe she had. She was scared and all he could do to help her now was give her what she seemed to want. "Okay."

Sami nodded at him. "Good then, we have an agreement. Now if you'll excuse me, this fresh air has suddenly made me sleepy again. I'm going back to bed."

He wistfully watched her climb back through the window then turned to scan the neighborhood below one last time before heading back to his place. A movement in the bushes below caught his eye and made his face light up with hope for a moment. Their shenanigans for the evening on hold, the two cats below had evidently decided that tonight they'd rather make love than war.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

"Well, well, well. How nice of you to finally grace us with your presence. Tell me Sami, just how do you expect to remain employed with the hours you keep?"

Sami stiffened at the shrill tone in Kate's voice. She silently counted to ten before turning and smiling sweetly at her longtime nemesis. "What on earth are you talking about Kate? I've been here all day, just like I'm supposed to be. Right Joelle?" She turned and nodded towards John and Kate's secretary.

Joelle, who had been given strict instructions by John to support Sami whenever Kate attacked, nodded her head enthusiastically. "She has Ms. Roberts. Sami's been a huge help to me today. She was over at the storage area we just finished renovating, organizing the new file system for me. In fact that's what she's been mostly doing for the past week." She neglected to add that Sami had designed and implemented the ingenious system in two days and had been given more paid time off by John as a reward.

Unbelievingly Sami had protested the time off, saying it would rouse Kate's suspicions, but John had been so impressed with the skills she'd demonstrated that he decided to change tactics with Kate. He hadn't given her the details but cryptically told Sami to play along when the time came.

Kate's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she had no choice to believe what her secretary was telling her. In all the years she'd worked with Joelle, the younger woman had never once lied to her and Kate valued that trust. Deciding that she could ignore Sami for the time being, she accepted the explanation without further comment before announcing that she had a three o'clock appointment across town that she had to leave for right away.

Sami and Joelle silently watched the elevator doors close before Sami turned to her and smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I know how Ms. Roberts can be…" She trailed off, her loyalty to her boss keeping her from saying more. "So how did your exam go? Mr. Black said you were writing it this morning."

"Really well I think." Sami grinned. The truth was, with all of the time she'd been given to study and with Rex's and then Jamie's help she hadn't really feared the exam. She'd also prepared by writing online versions of it in the past two weeks, so nothing she'd faced had been unexpected.

"That's wonderful! You must be so excited. So what comes after this? College?"

Sami nodded and grinned excitedly. "As long as I did well enough, I'll be going to Salem U. I just don't know how long I can stand to wait for my results. I know I only finished it a couple of hours ago, but the suspense is killing me." She wasn't lying. For the first time in ages she was looking forward to the future. And for once, that future didn't depend on her changing herself to meet some man's expectations. She'd be changing alright, but only for herself.

"So what are you planning on taking? Or have you even decided yet?"

"I was wondering the same thing myself." A deep voice suddenly joined the conversation.

Sami turned and smiled warmly at its source. "John. I didn't know you were here today. Haven't you been out of town the past few days?"

"That's a fact." John nodded as he motioned for her to follow him into his office, shutting the door behind them. "Just got back this morning." Only half-jokingly he added. "You didn't think I'd miss your big day did you?"

Sami was momentarily speechless, unsure whether or not to take his words seriously. Feeling sudden tears rush to her eyes she impatiently turned away and walked over to the window. Keeping her face hidden from his view, she wiped at the moisture that was threatening to spill onto her cheeks as she stared out the window at the Salem skyline.

"Samantha… Sami… Baby, what's wrong? What did I say?" John moved to stand behind her, aching to wrap his arms around her in a comforting embrace. Fearful that he'd scare her off when they'd finally begun to make progress he stood back and waited until she was ready to face him.

Taking a deep breath she composed herself and turned back to face him. He wore an expression of bewilderment and something else that she couldn't quite pin down. Tentatively she tried to articulate what had caused her waterworks to flow. "You_ were joking_ when you said you came back for me _right?_"

Both the wistfulness and the sarcasm in the tone of her voice tore at John's heart. At times like this he could so clearly see the both the spunky, fearless little girl he'd raised and the embittered, cynical young woman she'd turned into over the years. The combination left him powerless and unsure what to do. At times it had him wishing Sami was as straightforward and simple to figure out as Belle, but then again she wouldn't be Sami if she weren't an example of contradiction. Deciding to play the middle he answered but didn't satisfy her question. "I arranged for your results to be sent here to Basic Black this afternoon. I wanted to be on hand to make sure you received them without a hassle."

The surprise of his words caused her to momentarily forget her question to him. "You mean I'll find out today? I thought I'd be on pins and needles for at least a few more days."

John shook his head. "No, I made sure they knew how important it was to do your scores first. You'll need to know so you can finalize the arrangements with Salem U. Which leads me back to my original question. Have you made any decisions about what you want to take?"

Sami brightened at the talk of college. "I have." She beamed enthusiastically. "In fact, I already talked to one of the counselors over there, like you suggested I do. I loved my old job at Titan and I was good at it so I'm thinking that business, specifically marketing would be something I'd love to try."

"That's wonderful Sami. And that _would_ fit in with the plans Basic Black has for you."

"_And_ when I told the counselor about my old job he suggested that I apply to receive credit for my job experience. He said that they only started doing that recently, but with the way everyone seems to switch careers these days it made more sense not to re-teach people something they already know. So if I can get credit for the experience, I can shave probably at least a semester off!"

John grinned at Sami's enthusiasm. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen such happiness and hopefulness on her face.

"Mr. Black." Joelle's voice carried over the intercom system. "That call you've been waiting for is parked on line 101."

John winked at Sami before returning to his desk. "This is it Sami. Go ahead and put it through Joelle." He waited for the phone to ring once before picking the receiver up. "John Black… Yes she is." Handing the phone to Sami he stood back and watched, waiting for her reaction.

Internally Sami was a mess of emotions. Half scared, half excited, she couldn't wait but at the same time feared the news she was about to receive. Willing herself to remain calm she spoke into the receiver. "This is Sami Brady. -- Uh-huh, okay, well thanks then. -- Goodbye." She returned the phone to its cradle before turning and facing her stepfather once more, her expression neutral.

He looked at her expectantly. "Well?"

Slowly she began to smile. "Nearly perfect too."

John couldn't contain his excitement. Reaching over he pulled her into his exuberant embrace. Holding her close he stroked her hair as he whispered proudly. "That's my girl. I _knew_ you could do this."

For a moment, Sami allowed her body to melt into his embrace. Suddenly she was eight years old again and she'd just told her daddy that she'd scored 100 on her math test, won the spelling bee _and_ managed to beat Eric in a bike race. Closing her eyes she savored the long forgotten sensation before pulling herself back to reality.

John felt her begin to withdraw and didn't put up a fight. Allowing her to leave his arms he stepped back. "So."

"So." She nodded, a bit embarrassed that she'd allowed her guard to drop, however briefly.

"So I guess you'll be leaving Basic Black. At least while you're in college."

Sami smiled. "I guess I will. You know you still haven't told me your new plan to trick Kate."

John's eyebrow rose as he contemplated what to do next. "Kate's gone until at least four-thirty. There's no point in you hanging around here for the rest of the day, but if you could pop back in once she's here, then we can finish this."

"You want me to be here?" Sami asked skeptically.

John winked. "After what she did to you, I want you to have the chance to witness her reaction to my plan."

Sami's eyes widened. "Okaaaay. If you insist. Though being around Kate when she throws a fit isn't my idea of a good time."

"Don't worry. I'll protect you. I really would like you here for it." He insisted.

"Okay then. I guess I can just go and see if Joelle needs anything else done today."

John shook his head as he reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a shiny key ring with two keys attached. "No." He tossed the keys to her. "Go take your new car for a spin. Just be back for four-thirty."

Sami caught the keys and stared at them, speechless. "Car? I have a new car?" She looked at John suspiciously. "What's the catch?"

"No catch." He stared straight back at her. "We collided back in March and it damaged your car. I should have offered to replace it for you right then, but—."

"But you were distracted." Sami finished. "It's okay, we all were."

"But still, you've been walking all summer because of something that I did. I felt it only fair that I give you a replacement. Besides, you said you wanted a severance gift. Consider it that."

Sami didn't know what else to say. In a daze she allowed John to usher her back to the lobby. "Joelle will show you where it's parked. Have a good time and drive _safely_."

"I will." Sami nodded as she watched John retreat back into his office.

John closed the door behind him and walked back to his desk just as the phone rung once again. "John Black. Oh hi… Yes she certainly did… You were right all along…. Yes she's very excited. I gave her the car too. She's out test driving it… No she'll be fine. I told her to drive safely… Yeah I think I can manage that…. What time did you say? No problem, I'll make sure she gets there on time." He paused as he picked up a photograph of Sami, Eric, Carrie, Belle and Brady, taken in one of the rare moments when all of them were home in Salem. As he rubbed his thumb tenderly across Sami's image he added. "Oh and Lucas. Thanks…"


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Sami pulled into the emptying parking lot at Basic Black. The workday was over for most of the staff, save for a few unlucky ones whose presence was required beyond the normal workday hours. Gently she shut the door of her brand new car. She was still in shock that John had actually given it to her. When he'd said car, she'd been expecting a used one or at most a lower end new vehicle. Much to her surprise a brand new silver Mercedes had been waiting for her. Joelle, who'd walked her out to it had suppressed a laugh at the look on Sami's face. "Mr. Black said he wanted something with a good safety rating. He mentioned that you've been involved in more than a few fender-benders over the years."

Sami looked at the ground and kicked her foot back and forth across the pavement, unable to deny the truth. Shrugging her shoulders she half-heartedly explained. "Well it's just that I usually have other things on my mind."

"Things like one Lucas Roberts?" Joelle teased.

Sami blushed. "Now why would I have him on my mind?"

Joelle rolled her eyes. "Yeah right Sami."

"Lucas and I are just two parents who share a child. We get along because we have to." Sami insisted without looking up.

"Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever you say Sami. You go drive around Salem in your shiny new car and see if you can convince yourself of that." Joelle laughed before leaving the young blonde woman to her new toy.

Hours later Sami had to admit Joelle had a point. She'd spent the afternoon driving around aimlessly while images kept flashing through her mind. Lucas smirking, Lucas laughing, Lucas kissing her, Lucas walking around her apartment in a microscopic towel, Lucas without the towel… With a sigh she shoved her keys into her purse and walked purposely towards the main doors of the building, determined to put him out of her mind, at least temporarily.

"Oh Sami, good you're just in time. Kate will be back any minute. Come with me." John smiled as he spotted his stepdaughter walk into the area outside his office. Ushering her to the small closet inside his office he paused as he noticed the look of incredulity on her face.

"You want me to go in _there_?" Sami asked, pointing to the small space. She'd fit, but she had a tendency towards claustrophobia so the last place she wanted to be was in his office closet. "You've got to be kidding."

"It won't be for long. Ten minutes at the most and you can leave the doors open an inch or two as long as you promise not to move around or make any noise." John explained. Seeing her skepticism he turned on the charm. "Trust me Sami, you won't be disappointed."

Sami studied his face for a moment. For years she'd avoided looking too closely at him, fearing that if she let herself get lost in his eyes she'd fall under the same spell as her mother had. Deep down she'd always loved John, but she knew that those feelings of love would hurt the _other_ man she'd always loved, her real father, so she'd buried them deep and masked her pain with anger. Now with both Roman and Marlena gone, she had no reason to hide and slowly she was allowing herself to feel the emotions she'd so long denied. Hesitantly she smiled and nodded. "Okay. But this had better be worth it though. I hate small spaces."

"It will Sami, I promise." John assured her as he held the door open for her and then shut it almost completely once she was settled.

Sami arranged her stance so she could peek out of the small crack between the doors but still be hidden from the outside. Just as she began to wonder how long she'd be stuck in there her thoughts were interrupted by the loud arrival of Kate.

"John darling." Kate exclaimed with a false sweetness that made Sami want to hurl. Once upon a time Kate had seemed sincere, but everything about the woman now seemed so fake and exaggerated. "You would have thought that those months on that fishing boat would have knocked some genuine compassion and empathy into her, instead she lost the small bit that she had." Sami muttered under her breath as she continued to watch Kate fawn over John.

John grimaced as he disentangled himself from Kate's clinging embrace. Kate had always been very touchy-feely, but to be honest John had never cared enough to notice. Since Marlena's death and since his meeting with Lucas he'd been far more aware of Kate's actions and as a result he was finding it harder and harder to be in her presence. Luckily he had a plan to fix that and the beauty of it was that Kate could hardly say no to him.

"Kate, you're right on time. Thank you for coming back. So how did the meeting go?" John asked nonchalantly.

"It went well. I'll have a report on your desk by eight o'clock tomorrow morning." Kate beamed, happy to be back with John. She'd never thought she'd feel anything towards another man after losing Roman, but in the past few weeks she'd found herself thinking about John almost all of the time. He'd called her here for this meeting, saying he had something big to tell her. She couldn't help but hope that he was about to declare his feelings for her. His actions in the past couple of weeks had seemed stilted and strange, almost like he was suddenly nervous around her. She couldn't help but think that he'd fallen under the same spell as she and now he was finally ready to admit it to her, allowing them to move forward in life, together.

"Kate as you know I traveled to Alamania two months ago and met with Lawrence and Carly." John began, observing Kate's reaction to his words.

Kate stiffened at the mention of Carly and Lawrence as their names immediately conjured up the image of their son, Nicholas, with whom Kate had almost had a torrid affair. A terrible mistake on her part, it had cost her the chance to reconcile with Victor and had set her back for quite some time. She had no desire to ever be put in that position again.

Kate was good at playing cool when it came to business, but John could tell that he'd struck a small blow to her armor by reminding her of her past. "Like I was saying, I met with Lawrence and Carly. It seems that Alamania recently took over one of their wartorn neighbors after that country's dictatorship fell to rebel forces. Alamania has agreed to provide the necessary skills and people for rebuilding this tiny country and Lawrence has been seeking donations from international companies to help."

Kate nodded. "So you want Basic Black's Charity Foundation to provide some funding. No problem, I'll call—."

John held up his hand to stop her. "It's not just that. Yes we'll be funding the rebuilding but I wanted our contribution to be much more than that. I want us to fund a _specific_ project."

Kate's interest was piqued. "Okay, what is it?"

"Carly's pet project is the von Leuschner Memorial Medical Centre. She named it after her parents and is personally overseeing its design and construction. However, Carly is a doctor not a business woman and there's so much administrative work that needs to be done and that's where you come in. They need someone who can get things going, someone who can lead by example and I immediately thought of you Kate. The country is small and this hospital will be its main source of medical knowledge and facilities. Sixty percent of the money needed has been raised, but they need more. I just know you're up to the task and the residents would be ever so grateful for your assistance."

Kate was flattered, momentarily speechless by his words. "You want me to help them raise money?" Kate nodded as though thinking it over. "Well there are many different ways to go about it. Do you have Carly's number? I can give her a call and we can start going over it."

John shook his head. "Phone service is still quite primitive there. They had no land lines and had relied entirely on a cell network. Unfortunately the cell towers made frequent targets for the rebels. The only way now is to use a satellite phone." Walking away from her, John reached down and opened the top drawer of his desk, taking out a small box.

As he handed it to her, Kate furrowed her brow. "But why would I need one? I can use the landlines here."

John shook his head. "No, I haven't finished yet. Communication is very difficult over there and pretty much damn impossible from this side of the world. You won't be able to do this over the phone. You're going to have to go there and work in person on this project."

Kate's eyes widened. "But that could take months!"

John nodded slowly, feigning disappointment. "It will and Basic Black will certainly miss you, but this is for such a worthy cause…"

Kate could see that his mind was already made up. Her only choice was to go, or to leave Basic Black entirely. The last option was unfathomable to her, not when she was so close to her ultimate prize, happiness with John. No she'd do this, and he'd be thrilled and proud and when she returned she'd be his. "I understand. So when do I leave."

"I wish I could tell you that you have lots of time to prepare, but the situation is desperate over there and I really need you to get there as soon as possible. I have the Basic Black jet sitting on the tarmac at Salem International. It's fueled and ready to go on my word. I know you need to pack but since time is pressed, Joelle has packed the necessities for you. They're in the limo that's waiting for you outside. You can email us a list of everything else you think you'll need while enroute and I'll have the pilot fly it over within a week. Lawrence and Carly will be waiting for you in Alamania when you arrive." Leaning down John placed a quick kiss on Kate's forehead. "Best of luck Katherine. I know you'll do a great job. And don't worry about things here at Basic Black. We'll miss you, but we'll muddle through somehow."

Kate remained speechless as John ushered her out of his office. "But my report—."

"It's a long flight Kate. Type it up and email it. Don't worry about everything else; it's all taken care of. Make Basic Black proud."

Hearing them leave John's office Sami opened the closet doors another few inches, allowing light and more air into her confined space. She couldn't believe it; John had just eliminated Kate from her life for weeks, possibly months. Hearing footsteps she moved back and began to shut the closet doors again just as someone entered the room, shutting the door behind them.

"You can come out now." John called softly and then winked at a grinning Sami as she emerged from her hiding spot. "So?"

Sami nodded. "You shipped her away! My hero!" She exclaimed with a laugh as she ran across the room and threw her arms around him. After a brief hug Sami pulled back and grinned up at him. "So just how wartorn is this country that you've shipped her off to and is there any chance that I can pay the rebels to take her out while she's there?"

"Sami…" John warned, shaking his head. "The rebels are gone, there's no more fighting, but the country is in pieces. Kate is in for a big shock. I want her to lead by example and that means she'll be out digging in the dirt and rubble alongside everyone else."

"Then I suppose she won't need her Prada bags and her Versace dresses will she?" Sami laughed.

"That's a fact." John grinned. "It'll be jeans, a hardhat and steel-toed boots for Miss Katherine. It'll do her good."

"And for once she won't be able to interfere in my life or in Will's life."

"Or in Lucas' life." John completed her thought.

"Now why would I care about Lucas' life?" Sami asked innocently with an arched brow.

John's expression mirrored hers. "Gee I don't know Sami. Perhaps it's because you're in love with the man and with Kate away you'll finally have the peace you need to rebuild your relationship with him."

"Who says there's a relationship to rebuild?" Sami asked, glancing down as she said it.

John's eyebrow rose impossibly higher, but he said nothing, merely shaking his said from side to side. _Talk about denial._

Changing the subject Sami looked back up at him and smiled. "So you're rid of Kate, now what's my other surprise for the day?"

John laughed as he held out his arm. "Come with me milady. Your surprise awaits."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

"Where are we?" Sami asked excitedly as John kept his hand over her eyes and led her up what felt like a concrete walkway. She could still here the sounds of traffic and the drive hadn't been very long so she knew she was still in Salem.

"You'll find out soon enough." John chuckled as he led her to the door. "Now keep your eyes closed. I'm going to hand you over to Jamie and Mimi here and they're going to help you get ready." He handed her over to the two young women with Mimi quickly tying a black scarf around Sami's eyes to replace John's hand.

"Jamie and Mimi are here? Get ready?" Sami asked in confusion. "Just where did you bring me John?" Hearing no answer she called his name again. "John?"

"He stepped out for a moment. You're here with Meems and I." Jamie explained as she grinned at her younger co-conspirator. The two had become fast friends in the past two weeks as Mimi had often followed Rex and Phillip over to Sami's place whenever Rex came to help Sami study. As soon as Jamie realized that Mimi had the same opinion of Lucas and Sami's relationship a bond had formed, a bond that was determined to reunite the two misguided lovebirds.

"What are you doing?" Sami asked impatiently as she felt herself being led through a door.

"We're taking you to get changed for the evening." Jamie explained, her eyes flashing with amusement at Sami's impatience.

"Why do I need to change?"

"Because what you have on is nice, but not quite right for the setting." Mimi glanced down at the pretty pastel pantsuit that Sami was wearing.

Sami stopped cold, forcing Jamie and Mimi to stop with her. With mild irritation she announced. "I'm not changing until you tell me where we are and why we're here."

Jamie crossed her arms. "Now Sami, what kind of surprise would it be if we told you. Can't you just trust us? I promise this won't take long and then you'll find out everything."

Realizing that her two "kidnappers" weren't going to divulge any information she pouted. "Fine. Whatever. Do what you want. I no longer care."

Mimi bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. "Come on Sami. Don't worry, you'll like the surprise."

"Mimi's right." Jamie agreed as she walked across the room and picked up Sami's new outfit. "Now you can make this easy and fast by helping us, or we can do it the hard way."

Realizing that she wasn't going to find out their plan until she cooperated she held out her arms. "Here. Give it to me; just tell me what goes where."

Ten minutes later John stood next to a fidgeting Lucas. "She hates surprises. She'll kill us." Lucas muttered worriedly as he watched the doorway.

"I don't think she'll hate it. I don't think anything will bother Sami today. She's had a great day so far." John chuckled.

Lucas' lips twitched in response. John had filled him in on Kate's whereabouts and although Lucas would find it unusual without his mother around, he was also looking forward to living his life without her overbearing interference for a change. Now maybe without the threat of Kate hanging over their heads he and Sami could reconcile and finally be a family with Will. "Well I am a bit worried about this venue though. Sami didn't exactly enjoy her last experience here thanks to me."

John shook his head. "Then you'll just have to make sure you give her plenty of happy memories tonight to erase the bad ones. If I know my stepdaughter, she'll be so overwhelmed by everyone here that she'll forget that she ever had a bad time here."

Lucas nodded thoughtfully as he glanced around at the group of people, all of whom were here to help Sami celebrate. "She's going to be so stunned. She always thinks she's alone."

John sighed sadly, knowing full well that he was more than partially to blame for Sami's ever-present insecurities. "She's not alone. There are plenty of people who love her and want the best for her. We just have to keep showing her that until she gets it."

Lucas nodded, his eyes continuing to watch for Jamie or Mimi to emerge through the swinging doors of the tavern. He startled at the site of a blonde head, but settled down as soon as he realized who it was. "Jennifer!" He called to his sister. "Over here."

"Is she here yet?" Jenn whispered as she moved between John and Lucas.

"Mimi and Jamie are getting her ready." Lucas explained. "They should be out any moment now. One of them will come out and warn us while the other leads her out here. I'm so glad you made it in time." Lucas grinned at his sister. "So where's Hart? With the sitter?"

Jennifer nodded. "Lexie and Tek agreed to babysit Hart and Zack along with Theo. Lexie and Sami aren't exactly each other's biggest fans so she felt it would be better if she just stayed home and Tek offered to help her with the kids. Bo and Hope should be here in a minute or so. They were dropping Zack off just as I left Lexie's." Jennifer glanced around the room noticing various familiar faces. Phillip and Rex were at the bar, talking while a familiar looking tall redhead watched Rex from her table.

Lucas dropped his surveillance on the door briefly as he followed his sister's gaze. "That's Ginny, remember?"

"Your workout partner. That's right." Jenn nodded. "She sure seems to be watching Phillip and Rex closely.

Lucas laughed. "Yeah, she's our little matchmaking experiment. We're hoping she and Phillip will hit it off and he'll get over Belle."

Jennifer studied the woman for a moment, noticing that although she appeared to be casually looking around the bar, her eyes would in fact dart back to the two young men time and time again. Interestingly enough it was Rex who seemed to hold her gaze longer than anyone else. Making a mental note, Jennifer turned back and watched the door with Lucas.

"Hey have we missed anything yet?"

Jennifer jumped at the sound of Bo's voice behind her. She'd been watching the door and hadn't seen either him or Hope enter. "Hey! How did you guys sneak in?"

Hope grinned at her cousin. "Bonnie spotted us while she was out for a smoke and pulled us in through the kitchen. So where's Sami?"

John lifted a finger to his lips just as Hope finished asking. Mimi had just motioned to Lucas that Sami and Jamie were on their way in. On cue, Rex dimmed the lights from the bar and everyone waited quietly for the guest to make her entrance.

Lucas stifled a laugh as he listened to Sami complain to Jamie. "So help me Jamie, this had better be worth it after the hassle I've endured."

Jamie calmly instructed Sami. "You can remove the blindfold now."

Sami complied and was greeted with total darkness. "What that hell? Where are we?"

On cue Rex hit the light switch again and the group yelled. "Surprise!"

"What the fuck?" Sami looked first at the giant banner that said "Congratulations Sami" and then around at everyone gathered in the room. A room that she'd swore she'd never step foot in again. It was a sea of mostly smiling with one or two smirking faces. Her eyes narrowed on one smirk in particular. "YOU BASTARD! YOU DID THIS!" She cried before turning on her heel and running out of the club to the fresh air outside.

The air was filled with stunned silence as no one knew quite what to say. Finally Lucas broke the spell by muttering. "Fuck! I knew she'd be upset." Grimacing he tore off in the direction she'd run, with John hot on his heels, only to be halted by Jamie at the door.

Shaking her head Jamie stopped both men from following Sami. "No. Lucas you can't run to her. She needs to work this out on her own." She nodded to John. "And it's too soon for you. She's just starting to trust you again. You need to take things slowly. _I'll _go to her." Quietly she slipped away leaving the men to turn and face the confused crowd of family and friends. Bonnie who'd come in from the kitchen just in time to witness Sami's outburst quickly sensed that a diversion was needed. Walking over to the juke box she hit a selection and called out to the crowd. "Okay Salem! It's time for another Tush Push."

The guests grumbled good naturedly but with Hope, Jennifer and Ginny leading the way soon everyone was shuffling across the floor, save for John and Lucas who both stood next to the door, each aching to go and comfort Sami.

Jamie quickly walked around the veranda that surrounded the club, figuring that Sami would have taken refuge on one of the secluded benches. Sure enough as she rounded the corner she spotted the crying woman. She stopped short as she caught site of someone else approaching Sami from the opposite direction. Slowly she eased herself closer, allowing the thick rosebushes to provide a camouflage. She laughed at the irony of the situation. Years ago she had continually scolded Sami for doing the very thing she was about to do: eavesdrop. Shaking her head as she absently patted her rounded belly as she told herself that it was necessary. Besides, this way she could step in and help if Sami needed her.

"Sami what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Sami's tears ceased briefly as she stared up into the concerned blue eyes of her stepbrother. "Brady. Where did you come from?"

"Sami, don't tell me that you still don't understand where babies come from." He teased, trying to make her smile. "I thought you and Lucas figured that out together years ago."

Sami's lips twitched at his attempt at humor, but she was not quite ready to be cheered up. "_I meant_, were you inside?"

"The club?" Brady asked. "No. I was running late. I had just parked the car when I saw you run out." He sat down on the bench beside her lifted her chin so he could see her tearstained face. "So what happened? Did Lucas hurt you again?"

The mention of Lucas' name set off another torrent of tears. Brady felt suddenly helpless and did the only thing he could think of; pulled her into his arms gently rocking her while she cried her eyes out.

"Shhh. Come on Sami, it can't be that bad." Brady soothed. As her tears slowly subsided he continued to rock her as he softly rubbed her back in comforting circles.

Jamie watched him curiously. Recalling Sami's many stories about how kind and sweet Brady's mother Isabella had been she surmised that he must be a lot like her. She was aware that there had been tensions between Sami and Brady, but with Sami that seemed to be the case with all of her family save for Belle and Eric. No matter, it was quite evident at this moment that Brady did care a lot for his step-sister. Someone else faced with a crying Sami might have just turned and walked the other way.

After a few minutes her tears finally tapered off and Sami felt ready to talk. Pulling out of his arms she looked up at Brady sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Look, now I've made your shirt all wet."

Brady chuckled. "It's okay. It's so hot today I'm sure it'll be dry by the time we go inside. So what happened to make you so upset?"

Sami smiled wryly. "They threw me a surprise party. I hate surprises. Lucas _knows_ that."

"Ah. Okay I get it." Brady nodded his head in understanding. "But what if I told you that this wasn't entirely Lucas' doing?"

Sami furrowed her brow. "What?"

"Lucas wanted to take you out for a nice dinner, but Phillip, Rex and Mimi insisted that they wanted to throw you a surprise party." Brady explained and then further elaborated at Sami's look of incredulity. "I ran into them at a few mornings ago. Rex was telling the group that he's really proud of you and that he had no doubt you'd pass. Lucas told them of his dinner plans with you and it sort of snowballed from there and ended up being this huge surprise party. You know how things can get. Once Mimi starts talking and planning, no one can get a word in edgewise. Lucas did try to stop them."

Sami let out an exasperated sigh. She _did_ understand how hard it was to go against that whole group once they had their minds made up, and she was happy to hear that Lucas had tried to stop it, but still…

Brady studied the myriad of expressions as they crossed her face. He could tell how torn she was about everything. "I don't suppose that the venue is helping things for you either?"

Sami shook her head. "No, it's not exactly my favorite place at the moment, although I guess it does have one advantage."

Unsure at what she trying to imply he queried her. "And what would that be?"

"If this had been held at say the Penthouse Grille or even at your club, it would have been worse. I have no memories of my parents associated with this place. I mean, obviously they came here when it was still Tuscany, but the place has undergone such a makeover I can hardly believe that it used to be Maggie Horton's upscale restaurant."

Brady moved his head up and down in sudden understanding of what the _real_ problem was. "Sami, it's not the fact that they surprised you that's upset you is it?"

Sami looked over his shoulder, avoiding his knowing gaze. "What makes you say that?"

"I think you're more upset because you finally accomplished something that you're proud of and neither your mom nor dad is alive to see it. That's what's really bothering you isn't it?" It was all beginning to make perfect sense to him. Sami had always placed such great weight in her parents' opinion of her and now that she'd accomplished something that would no doubt make them proud, it was too late for them to witness it. "Sami you have to know that wherever your parents are they're watching over you and they're proud of you." Softly he added. "And my mom would be proud of you too."

Sami smiled serenely at the memory of Isabella. There was just something about her memories of her long ago stepmother that always managed to calm her when nothing else could. Wistfully she murmured softly. "I suppose she would be." Pausing she looked up into his clear blue eyes. "So do you think they're really all watching us?"

He nodded. "I do. I know for a fact that my mom is and no doubt your mom and dad are standing right along side her now." He pulled her back into his arms and gave her a quick hug. "And they _are_ proud of you Sami, just like I am, just like Belle is, just like Eric and Carrie."

"And Will, and John and Rex and Lucas… Okay I get it."

Standing up he held out his hand as he grinned. "So what do you say that we go in and show them all that you're ready to celebrate? I promise that if they get too pushy, I'll get you out of there. Deal?"

Sami flashed a smile as she took his hand and stood up. "Deal." They walked together around to the door. Just as they reached the entrance Sami stopped him.

"What?"

She smiled coyly as she pulled his head down and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He murmured as he followed her back inside.

Having witnessed the entire exchange Jamie stepped out of the shadows and moved to the door herself, pleased with everything she'd just seen and determined to get to know Brady Black better.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

"See I _knew_ this would happen. I _knew_ she'd get upset and run away. That's why I wanted to just take her out for a nice dinner, just the two of us, celebrating privately." Lucas proclaimed for the tenth time in ten minutes.

"Lucas, this isn't your fault." Julie again assured him. She frowned slightly as she watched the morose slump of her cousin's shoulders. After Jamie had prevented him from running after Sami the young man had made a beeline straight to her table and had been beating himself up ever since. "Lucas darling, you don't control Sami's actions and reactions. Yes she was upset, but I doubt it was just from the surprise. Did you see the look on her face when she walked in? It was almost like her mind was somewhere else. Just wait until she comes back and I'm sure she'll tell you that the surprise played a very small part."

"I guess." He muttered, unconvinced.

Julie rolled her eyes and looked heavenward as she pleaded softly. "Help me with this Doug." No sooner had the words left her mouth than she spotted everyone turning to look at the entrance of the club as Brady held the door open and escorted Sami inside. Julie was relieved that Sami appeared to have composed herself and actually had a small smile on her face. "See there she is Lucas. She looks okay."

Lucas turned and followed his cousin's gaze, smiling slightly as his eyes locked with Sami's.

After meeting Lucas' stare Sami broke contact briefly as she turned to Brady. "I see someone I have to apologize to." She explained, nodding towards Lucas who had stood and was beginning to walk towards her. "Thanks again Brady."

"You're welcome." He replied softly as she walked away. He stood there watching for a moment as she and Lucas met in the middle of the room. To his surprise she whispered something in the man's ear and then after a moment took his hand in hers and led him to the dance floor where Bonnie stood with a microphone.

After whispering quick instructions to Bonnie, Sami waited, her fingers still tightly entwined with Lucas', as Bonnie turned off the music and called everyone's attention to the dance floor.

"Ladies and gentlemen as you know we're here tonight to help this young lady celebrate a milestone in her life. Now things may have started off a bit roughly, but everything is alright. Our guest of honor has asked if she could say a few words. So let's give it up for Sami Brady."

Sami laughed nervously as she took centre stage, feeling all eyes on her as she prepared to speak. "You're probably wondering what happened earlier." She began tentatively. Glancing first at Brady who grinned and winked and then at Lucas, who squeezed her hand reassuringly she pressed on. "I guess you could say that I was a little overwhelmed by this." She explained as she gestured towards the banners and balloons that adorned the club walls, while stealing quick nervous glances at the curious faces of her friends and family. "No one's ever done anything like this for me. I mean, of course when I was little I had birthday parties and such, but I always shared those with Eric. This is the first time something's been just for me. I can't even begin to explain just how much that means to me." Casting a meaningful look towards John she added. "It's been an incredible day, in more ways than one and it hit me when I walked in, that I've finally achieved something with my life and my parents and so many other important people aren't here to see it." Her voice trailed off as once again she felt herself choking up with emotion.

An awkward silence fell over the club as no one knew quite what to say. Unable to bear it any longer Rex broke the peace by walking up to Sami and giving her a big hug. "Well I just want to congratulate you. You worked very hard for this and your result proves it. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks Rex." Sami smiled gratefully, relaxing as one by one everyone else made their way over to her.

Lucas stood back and simply watched proudly, wanting to talk more with Sami, but unwilling to intrude on her moment in the sun. Realizing that he'd be waiting awhile, he walked back behind her and placed his hand on the small of her back as he whispered in her ear. "Meet me outside in an hour?"

Wordlessly she nodded, her heart skipping a beat as his deep voice sent a shiver of anticipation down her spine. She closed her eyes briefly as she felt him leave, not wanting to let go of the delicious tingling sensation that his nearness had provoked.

"Man do you have it bad for him."

Her eyes popped open in surprise at the voice. "Ginny!"

The taller woman opened her arms to give Sami a big hug. "Come here girl! I'm so proud of you! I just knew you'd ace it." Standing back she held onto Sami's forearms as she looked her over. "Yup you definitely have it bad for him. You're blushing from head to toe right now."

"I don't know what you're referring to." Sami lied as she looked down, avoiding Ginny's teasing gaze. "He's just Will's father."

"Uh-huh." Ginny replied, unconvinced.

"Stop it." Sami ordered her friend. "There's nothing going on between me and Lucas." She paused and turned, walking a few steps away from her friend to look across the room. Lucas was now huddled by the bar with Rex and Phillip, seemingly engrossed in a deep conversation. Very softly she added. "At least not yet."

"Aha! I _knew_ it!"

Sami jumped. She could have sworn she'd said the last part quietly enough for no one else to hear. "How the hell did you hear that?"

Ginny shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "I've never really questioned it, but have you noticed that sometimes you can be right beside someone and not hear a word they say and other times you can be across the room and hear a whisper loud and clear?"

Sami had never really given the topic much thought before but come to think of it Ginny had a point. Hesitantly she ventured an explanation. "It's Salem I guess?"

Ginny nodded. "I guess." Following Sami's gaze she grinned. "I know he wants you. Say the word Sami and he'll be all yours."

"I don't think so." Sami shook her head sadly. "We screwed things up so badly last time. We're finally at a point where we can be _friends_ again. I don't want to mess with that. There's too much at stake, especially with Will coming home on Sunday."

"You mean I finally get to meet your little boy in the flesh?" Ginny beamed excitedly.

Sami laughed. "He was nearly as tall as me when he left. Somehow I don't think _little_ is the right word to describe him."

"You must be talking about my godson." Jamie chuckled as she joined Sami and Ginny. "Lucas was saying the other day that he's afraid Will will be a foot taller than him by the time he's fully grown."

"Well I wouldn't say a whole foot, but at least half. I guess he inherited his grandmothers' tall genes." Sami grinned at her old friend. "Hey Jamie have you met Ginny yet?"

Jamie smiled at Sami's tall redheaded friend. "I have. We met at Lucas' last week. You were working at the restaurant that night Sami, remember?" At Sami's nod she continued. "Lucas didn't want me to be bored all alone in your apartment so he invited me out with him and Ginny." Jamie had jumped at the opportunity to observe Lucas with the other woman. He'd insisted that he and Ginny were just friends but she'd wanted to watch them together, just to make sure. Happily Lucas had been telling the truth. She'd sensed nothing more than a warm sibling-like relationship between the two and she and Ginny had hit it off immediately.

"Sami I was going to ask you what your plans are for your job now that you're going back to school."

Sami looked up at Ginny. "The restaurant?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, are you going to still work there on weekends?"

Sami shook her head. "No, I finished there a week ago. John agreed to pay for my college tuition plus he's giving me money for living expenses. He wants me to concentrate only on school and Will, so I quit. It's too bad though, that was the only job other than working at Titan that I've ever enjoyed. I met a lot of interesting people and I swear I had more visits from my family and friends during my shifts there than I ever have at home." She wasn't kidding herself. She knew that Lucas had arranged for someone to pick her up each night, but still it was fun chatting with everyone at the end of her shift. She'd miss that more than the actual work.

"Oh that's cool. So did you finally decide what program you're taking at Salem U? And more importantly did you arrange your timetable so that you're off while _A_ _Day of our Life_ airs?" Ginny grinned.

Sami rolled her eyes. "That's what VCRS are for. Besides, even if I didn't tape it I could just watch it with Rex. He tapes it religiously. I think he even downloads day-ahead clips, you know how obsessed with that show he is." She nodded towards her half-brother who was now standing with Bonnie at the bar. "Ginny you know Rex right? From Salem U?"

Ginny swallowed hard as she glanced in Rex's direction. Breathlessly she answered. "Yeah, I know him. I don't think he really knows me. We were in a class together in our first year, but of course Rex moved through those classes pretty quickly. I doubt he'd even remember meeting me."

Sami watched her friend curiously. Since she'd first seen Ginny with Lucas a few weeks ago she'd planned to pair up the younger woman with Phillip. Now she was beginning to wonder if maybe there wasn't a better match for Ginny out there. Happy that she had managed to deflect the conversation away from the subject of Lucas she decided to pursue the Ginny-Rex connection just a bit further. "Ginny do you like my brother?"

"Rex?" Ginny replied innocently as she stared down at her shoes, suddenly finding them immensely interesting.

"Well considering my only other brother is my twin Eric who hasn't been in Salem in years, who else would it be? Of course I'm talking about Rex."

Ginny felt the heat crawl across her skin as debated how to reply. She found herself unable to lift her head to make eye contact with Sami. "Of course I like him. He's very friendly and smart."

Sami threw back her head and laughed. "Omigod, and you say I have it bad. You don't just like him, you _like_ him!" She wiggled her shoulders from side to side and did a little singsong. "Ginny likes Rex! Ginny likes Rex!"

"Sami!" Ginny pleaded desperately. "Please don't say anything to him. I mean, he barely even knows I exist and he has a girlfriend. I'd be so embarrassed if you said anything to him." She looked over at Jamie who was doing her best not to laugh. "Help me! She's impossible."

Jamie grinned. "Yeah she is, but she means well, don't you Sami?"

Sami nodded but still kept mouthing the words.

"Sami come on! What if he hears you? What if Mimi hears you? I'd just die!" Ginny implored her friend.

"I don't think you need to worry about Mimi hearing. She looks pretty occupied at the moment." Jamie explained as she nodded towards the dance floor.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Is that one Phillip Kiriakis getting all chummy with Meems on the dance floor?" Sami's eyes danced mischievously as she took in the sight of the two dancing closely together. "Who needs _A Day of our Life _anyway when we have a real soap opera brewing here in Salem?"

Ginny looked towards the dance floor hopefully. "You don't think?—"

Sami nodded. "I didn't until a few minutes ago, but it makes sense. Phillip and Meems have known each other forever and he was _really_ happy to move in with Rex and Mimi after Belle dumped him for Shawn. _And _when I talked to him last week he seemed to have completely recovered from Belle's rejection. I figured that he must have met someone new." She glanced at the dancing pair again before turning her attention to her half-brother. Rex was still in the middle of an animated conversation with Bonnie although John had now joined them. She frowned momentarily at the thought of the heartbreak that Rex would experience if he lost Mimi, but with Mimi being his first and only girlfriend heartbreak was bound to happen sooner or later for him. She had faith that he'd be just fine in the long run. The more she thought about it the happier it made her. Ginny was one of the smartest people she'd ever met and would have no trouble keeping up to Rex in a conversation. And Phillip and Mimi did make the most adorable couple she'd ever seen. She grinned as the wheels began to turn in her head. Everyone was so busy plotting to reconcile her and Lucas that they'd never suspect that she was scheming to rearrange their lives.

Jamie's eyes widened as she caught a brief look at the twinkle in Sami's eyes and the faint flash of a smirk. "Uh-oh."

Ginny looked over to Jamie in alarm. "What's uh-oh for?"

Jamie nodded at Sami who was now grinning outright. "She's up to something."

"Uh-oh."

"Exactly." Jamie agreed as she chuckled softly.

"Don't think I'm not hearing every word." Sami sang back, winking as she made her way across the dance floor towards her brother.

"Omigod! What's she going to do?" Ginny looked at Jamie fearfully.

"What's who going to do?" Jennifer Deveraux asked as she sat down on a stool next to Jamie. She smiled up at Ginny. "Are you talking about Sami?"

Ginny and Jamie nodded simultaneously.

Jennifer watched as Sami pulled Rex aside and whispered something in his ear.

"Oh no! She wouldn't!" Ginny cried, fighting the urge to escape before she became totally humiliated.

"I take it Sami figured out that you're interested in her brother?" Jennifer asked.

"_You know too?" _

Jennifer giggled. "Oh I just noticed earlier while I was watching you. Don't worry, I'm sure that not _everyone_ knows. In fact I can almost guarantee that my little brother hasn't noticed yet."

"Lucas?" Jamie chuckled. "No he hasn't figured it out, but then again I don' think he even realizes that there are other people here tonight. He's only got eyes for Sami."

"Too true." Jennifer laughed.

"Look, this is killing me. I've got to go stop her before she says anything to Rex." Ginny explained fretfully. "I'll catch up to you guys later." She headed off to the other side of the club where she'd just seen Sami drag Rex outside.

Jennifer watched the young woman scurry away before turning back to Jamie. "So I got your email the other day. I did what you asked. She can meet you on Tuesday if that's okay with you."

Jamie beamed. "That's perfect. I have an ultrasound at 8 am but I'm free after that."

"Perfect. I'll let her know to expect you sometime after 9. You have her cell number right?"

Jamie moved her head up and down. "I do."

Jennifer leaned over and gave her a quick hug. "This is going to be so awesome! Sami and Lucas won't know what hit them." She laughed. "And my nephew will be thrilled and so will his cousin."

"So I wonder what's up with that?" Lucas pointed to where Sami had literally just dragged their half-brother Rex out the door.

"Knowing Sami, it could be anything." Brady replied. "I'm just glad that she's having fun. I was a bit worried about her earlier."

"Yeah, about that. I've been meaning to talk to you. Thank you for what you did tonight."

Brady shrugged. "What's the point of being her stepbrother if I can't offer my shoulder to her once in awhile?"

"Well for quite some time I was the only shoulder she could cry on. I'm glad to see that you guys are starting to work things out."

"I'm glad you two have worked things out too. You are getting along better now right?" Brady stared down at Lucas who was gazing at the door wistfully.

Lucas shook himself out of his brief reverie. "What? Oh yeah. Yeah we're getting along better. We're friends again. I'd love to be more, but she's not ready."

Brady studied him thoughtfully for a moment before commenting. "Don't give up on her. She's dealing with a lot of stuff right now, but one day she'll be ready to move on with her life."

"Don't worry. I have no intention of letting her move on without me." Lucas assured him as he glanced down at his watch. He'd given Sami one hour and that hour was nearly up. Ten minutes more and he'd be heading outside to meet her. He could hardly wait.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

"Alright! Alright! I'll do it." Rex said as he held his hands up in mock surrender. "Sheesh Sami, you just don't give up do you?"

Sami's eyes twinkled with triumphant laughter. "No. I don't. And as my little brother I expect you to listen to me at all times."

"Poor Eric!" Rex laughed. "No wonder he hides from Salem. You'd never give him a moment's peace if he were home."

"Hey!" Sami protested unconvincingly. "I don't need to boss Eric around. I trained him years ago. She moved behind her much taller brother and gave him a push towards the door of Alice's Bar. "Now get back in there and dance with that woman."

With a chuckle Rex flung open the door just as Lucas was pushing from the other side, nearly causing a collision between the two brothers. "Lucas! What perfect timing. Now maybe she can boss you around for a bit and leave me alone."

Lucas gave Rex a look of confusion as the younger man continued on his way back into the club. Turning to Sami he gave her grinning form the once-over before saying. "Should I even ask?"

Sami grinned. "Oh he knows I'm right. He's just in denial."

Lucas had no clue what she was referring to. "What?"

With a laugh she moved closer to him and patted his forearm in a slightly patronizing manner. "It's okay Lucas. I'll explain later. Now you wanted to talk to me? Come over here. We can sit on the benches by the rose bushes."

With a rueful shake of his head Lucas followed her, his eyes never leaving the gentle sway of her miniskirt clad hips.

Jamie looked up from her conversation with Jennifer as she saw Rex return to the interior of the club. "There's Rex, now where's Sami and where's Ginny?"

"There's Ginny." Jennifer pointed to the tall redhead who was leaning against the bar in conversation with Brady and John. "Oh, now that's interesting." Jennifer commented as she watched Rex make a beeline towards the bar, completely ignoring Mimi who was still on the dance floor with Phillip.

"You don't think Sami would have just outright told Rex about Ginny's crush do you?" Jamie asked, suddenly worried.

Jennifer shook her head. "No, when Sami schemes, she keeps things a secret, but she must have said _something_ to make him head straight for her."

Jamie nodded. "Speaking of Sami, she hasn't returned. I hope she didn't take off."

"I'm sure she didn't." Jennifer smiled as she quickly scanned the rest of the club. "In fact, there's one other person missing which probably explains where Sami is."

Jamie's eyes lit up. "Really?" She joined the older woman in searching the crowd. "Very interesting. What do you think they're doing?"

"Hopefully each other." Jennifer blurted out and then quickly covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my gosh Jamie! I didn't mean to say that out loud!"

Jamie was momentarily speechless before breaking out into a fit of giggles at the blush on Jennifer's cheeks. "It's okay." She gasped between laughs. "I mean, you're right! That would solve so many problems for both of them."

Jennifer joined in her laughter. "It would. They're just so damn stubborn."

"What's so funny ladies?" Julie asked curiously as she approached their table.

Jennifer looked up at her older cousin and attempted to put a serious expression on her face as she answered. "It's Lucas and Sami."

Julie's face lit up. "Oh? What's going on?" In a year that had been filled with so much sadness she really hoped that the pair would unite and provide the family with its second bright spot, the first of course being the birth of Jennifer's son Hart earlier in the summer.

Jamie stole a glance at Jennifer who was still trying without success to calm her giggles. "Oh we just noticed that Lucas disappeared around the same time Sami went out with Rex. Rex is back, but Sami isn't. We're hoping that means she's with Lucas somewhere."

Julie was pleased at that thought, but still couldn't figure out what was causing the women's mirth. "And it's so amusing why?"

"I can't say it!" Jennifer laughed and pointed to Jamie. "You tell her."

Jamie grinned. "We're laughing because I asked what Jennifer thought they were doing and she said that she hoped they were doing each other."

Julie's smile widened. "Let's hope so darlings. Let's hope so." Shaking her head at the giggling pair she looked around the club before grabbing a chair at their table. "You don't mind if I join you?"

Jamie shook her head. "Of course not!"

Julie grinned as she took a seat. "So Lucas and Sami are out doing whatever it is they're doing. Who do we have left?"

"Julie you're as bad as Sami!" Jennifer chastised the older woman.

"Oh really? Whose lives is she meddling in and why? If I agree with her choices I'll help her out."

Jamie's eyes widened in surprise. "No wonder Sami speaks so highly of you!"

Jennifer laughed. "Yeah, Sami is a lot like my cousin here. But it's okay, you both mean well, don't you?"

Julie just smiled before resuming her scan around the room. "So what's the story with Rex and the redhead?"

"Funny you should ask that. It's Sami's newest project." Jamie explained. "Ginny is the lovely redhead and she's a friend to both Lucas and Sami. Sami had planned to set her up with Phillip, but that went nowhere, so she's onto plan B."

"Rex?"

Jennifer nodded. "You'll note that Rex's current girlfriend Mimi has been on the dance floor with Rex's half-brother Phillip for the last half hour."

"Phillip? But I thought he was hung up on Belle Black?"

"He was." Jamie agreed. "Until she turfed him from her life for Shawn." At Julie's look of surprise she elaborated further. "Sorry, I don't mean to make her sound so awful, I mean I know that Shawn is your cousin/step grandson and all, but Belle did dump Phillip rather unceremoniously once Shawn returned."

"Oh it's okay." Julie waved her hand in the air. "I know all about Belle, but Shawn still loves her and she loves him, so I guess everything worked out for the best. Poor Phillip must have been heartbroken though. I guess it's better in the long run that Belle and Shawn decided to move to Paris right away."

"It is." Jamie agreed. She'd spent a few evenings in Phillip Kiriakis' company while visiting Lucas in the past weeks and she'd grown rather fond of the young man. She was happy that he seemed to be getting over Belle, but at the same time was a bit concerned that he might have placed himself inside an even worse situation by moving in with Mimi and Rex. "I just hope he hasn't jumped from the frying pan into the fire." She nodded towards the dance floor where he and Mimi were now tightly clutched together, unspeaking, in the middle of a slow dance.

Julie studied the pair. There was something about them that just seemed to fit, much the same way that Lucas and Sami went together. Shifting slightly she watched Rex and Ginny who were also swaying to the song. Their hold was much more casual as the pair seemed more intent on chatting than actually dancing. She watched as the young woman said something to her tall companion causing him to throw his head back in laughter. Seconds later he reached down and whispered something in her ear causing her to laugh this time. "Interesting…" She murmured to herself, nodding her head in satisfaction.

"You want to _what_ me?" Sami asked in disbelief.

"I want to **woo** you." Lucas grinned at the skeptical expression adorning her sweet face. He figured she'd react this way. Despite her arguments to the contrary, the truth was that he did indeed know her better than she knew herself. And at this moment Lucas was confident that his knowledge of her would make her respond just as he'd anticipated.

"_Why?"_

"Honey I thought my reason would be fairly evident." He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the somewhat stunned expression she currently wore.

"And that reason is?"

"You're going to make me say it aren't you?" Lucas shook his head. "Okay, fine. I love you Sami Brady and dammit I know you're in love with me!"

"Now _that's_ romantic Lucas. Swearing at a girl as you express your love will work_ every_ time." Sami rolled her eyes before turning away from him. She stared off into the distance all the while waiting for him to move directly behind her. A faintly smug smile graced her lips as she felt his warm breath across the back of her neck. She knew him so well, it almost scared her. Silently she counted to five, waiting for the words she knew were about to come.

"Sami, we've known each other for what seems like forever. We've been best friends and worst enemies and just about everything in between, but we've never dated."

Okay, maybe she didn't know him quite as well as she thought. Turning back to face him, she noted the pleading look in his deep brown eyes. "I think we're sort of beyond dating don't you?"

Lucas sighed. "If it were up to me we'd be married already honey, but I know you're not ready." Reaching down, he grasped her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss against her closed fist before tugging her ever so slightly closer to him. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I know you're not ready yet, but that I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get you to the point where you are. If that means spending a few months pulling out all the romantics stops then so be it."

"Oh so you're willing to make the ultimate sacrifice… You're willing to _date_ me. How noble and generous of you."

Lucas cringed at the sarcasm in her voice. Dropping her hands he lifted one of his own and impatiently ran it through his hair. This was _not_ going quite the way he'd planned. Time for some damage control before things got too out of hand. "Sami you know that's not how I meant it."

"Do I Lucas?" Deep down she knew she was being overly sensitive, but the man had some nerve assuming that he knew her innermost feelings. Okay, sure, he happened to be right, but she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of knowing that, at least not yet.

Lucas growled her name in a low voice. "Sami." Lifting his hand to her face his fingers gently tilted her chin to allow her clear blue eyes to stare into his. "Stop it."

Driven equally by stubbornness and fear she snapped back. "Stop what?"

"Stop denying the truth" His thumb softly grazed her cheek as he leaned closer to her. "Stop denying _us._"

Sami gasped softly at the emotion in his voice. Her momentary anger was forgotten as she looked into his chocolate colored eyes. "Lucas, I—."

"Shhh." He placed a finger on her lips. "Don't talk." He moved his head until their lips were mere inches apart. "Don't think."

Sami could hear the sound of her blood pounding through her veins as he moved closer at an agonizingly slow pace. She closed her eyes in anticipation of his kiss.

"Just feel." He half whispered half moaned as his lips touched hers.

"Oh there you are Lucas!"

Sami and Lucas jumped apart in surprise as Bonnie's voice boomed across the patio.

Still flushed with heat from his near kiss Sami stepped back from him in an effort to compose herself.

_Damn! _"Bonnie!" Lucas exclaimed while trying hard not to let his annoyance with her sudden appearance show. "You were looking for me?"

"Well of course I was sugar. You told me to let you know when your song was about to play. So that's what I'm here to do. It's the next one up."

"Ah." Lucas nodded, his irritation quickly forgotten. "Perfect. Thank you. We'll be back inside in just a minute."

Bonnie glanced at Sami who'd remained silent during the whole exchange. Noting the young woman's flushed cheeks she grinned. "I obviously interrupted something. Sorry about that. I'll leave you two alone." With a little laugh she turned on her heel and walked back into the club, leaving the couple alone again.

"Sorry about that." Lucas said sheepishly. With a shrug of his shoulders he offered an explanation. "You distracted me so much that I forgot I'd requested a song earlier for us."

"You requested a song for us?"

"Yeah." Lucas smiled as he held out his hand for her. "Come on. It's really more of a song from me to you. I think you'll get it when you hear it."

"Lucas I don't want to dance. You know I suck at dancing. And so do you for that matter." Sami was insistent.

"Hey! You do not! And neither do I!" Lucas argued as he walked over and grasped her hand in his. "Sami, please? For me?"

She arched an eyebrow at the pleading tone in his voice.

"For us?" He gave her his best woeful, pleading look. The same one that Will used with her when he'd misbehaved as a toddler and still used on occasion when desperate to get his way.

How could she turn him down when he used the same expressions as their son? Sighing at the melting effect his puppy dog eyes had on her heart she relented. "Okay, but just what song is it anyway?"

He resisted the urge to smirk. His eyes and their resemblance to Will's were the key to getting his way with her. Pulling her alongside him he answered after escorting her back inside. "It's a song by Lonestar." With his hand on the small of her back he guided her to the dance floor.

"Which one?" She asked, not recognizing the opening notes of the song.

"_Let's Be Us Again_." Lucas murmured as he pulled her into his arms and they began to sway to the music...

ed. Note: Lyrics have been removed to comply with "no © material rule" Go to the Lonestar website to read the lyrics: http/www.lonestar.mu/music.asp

As the song ended Sami lifted her head off of Lucas's shoulder and stared into his deep dark eyes. "Yes." She said simply.

"Yes?"

"Yes I'll let you _woo_ me." She smiled at his obvious confusion. Then with a wink she added. "Starting tomorrow."

"But—." He began to protest.

"Lucas we have one more night free before Will gets home from camp. Let's go out for that nice little celebratory dinner that I hear you originally wanted to have for me. And then we'll take it from there."

"Okay, but—."

She chuckled. "I know, but I have a club full of guests and I've only talked to a few of them so far. Go mingle and I'll catch you before the end of the night for another dance." Tossing her hair she flounced off with a laugh, leaving him standing in the middle of the dance floor, stunned.

He shook his head wryly. The woman was going to be the death of him.

"Don't worry darling. The path for your future is clear."

"What!" Lucas whipped his head around to stare in disbelief at Celeste who'd snuck up behind him.

"Yours and Samantha's. Like the rose vines on the trellis in the garden, your lives are twisted and tangled together. There will be no separation. Forever your souls will be entwined."

"Uhm, okay." Lucas replied hesitantly, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at the older woman. He had never bought into any of the, pardon the pun, "celestial" mumbo jumbo that she spewed on a regular basis. Although, he had to admit that she had been bang on with several of the serial killer murders months ago, but he just chalked that up to coincidence.

"You don't believe me." Celeste nodded and reached over to touch her hand to his shoulder. "My child, one day you will."

"Okaaaaaaaay." Not wanting to be rude, but not really comfortable in her presence Lucas sought an escape. His eyes lit upon Jamie, Jennifer and Julie who were chatting at a nearby table. "Celeste, you remember Jamie right?"

Celeste followed Lucas' gaze. She studied the curly haired young woman thoughtfully. "I do. She was Samantha's young friend. Poor girl, she had such a rough childhood." Leaving Lucas behind she made her way towards the table.

"Celeste!" Jennifer grinned. "We were just talking about you and Lexie. Julie had asked where I stashed Hart for the night and I explained that Lexie was doing major babysitting tonight by watching both Zack and Hart along with Theo. I thought she would have drafted you for help, but I guess she tagged Tek instead."

Celeste smiled, but her gaze never left Jamie. She glanced down meaningfully at Jamie's ever growing tummy. Reaching out her hand she asked. "May I?"

Jamie beamed. "Sure, why not. Everyone seems to want to touch it. You should see Rex when he comes over to Sami's. He brings science books and sits there and reads to the baby. It's the cutest thing."

"Oh that's adorable." Jennifer laughed. "So if the baby turns out to be a scientist you'll have Rex to thank."

"Well she can be whatever she wants as long as she's happy and healthy."

"She?" Jamie's little slip had not gone unnoticed by Jennifer.

"Lee, my late husband, was convinced it was a girl. Honestly I think it is too. Everything I've bought so far has been pink. That must mean something."

Celeste lifted her hand. "She is indeed a 'she'."

Jamie's eyes widened. She'd forgotten about the mysterious aura that always seemed to surround the older woman. Touching Celeste's forearm she said. "Good, I hope you're right. Otherwise I'll be making Sami and Lucas exchange a whole lot of pink stuff for blue."

"What—." Jennifer was about to question Jamie on something she'd just said when suddenly Celeste jumped back, almost as though she'd been burned. "Celeste!"

Celeste looked at Jamie's face and saw a brief pleading expression flash in her eyes. "I'm sorry darlings but I must go." Gingerly she reached over and took Jamie's hand in hers. "I'm sorry we couldn't chat longer." And with one last meaningful look back to the expectant mother she quickly escaped from the suddenly crushing confines of the club.

Making her way to the benches on the patio she slid down onto the seat as an overwhelming sense of sadness threatened to consume her. She shook her head as she gazed up into the twinkling night sky. "So sorry…"

"What on earth was that about?" Julie asked incredulously.

Jennifer shrugged her shoulders. "You know Celeste."

"Jennifer would you mind if I took you up on your offer for a ride home now?" Jamie quickly asked. Her brief interaction with Celeste had left her feeling rather uneasy and combined with the headache she'd developed in the last half hour she felt it best to get home and rest.

"Is your head still bothering you?"

Jamie nodded.

"Sure we can go. I'm anxious to pick up Hart anyway. This is the longest I've ever been away from him." Jennifer slid off the stool she'd been sitting on. "Let me just say goodbye to my brother first."

Jamie nodded. "I'll grab Sami and let her know too." Turning to Julie she smiled. "It was great seeing you again."

"You too darling. Take care."

"Sami." Jamie called across to her blonde friend who was having a rather animated conversation with Bonnie beside the bar. "Jennifer's going to give me a ride home now. I'm assuming you'll catch a lift with Lucas later?"

Sami nodded. "Yeah, of course. You're leaving already?" Her blue eyes flashed her concern as she gave Jamie a once-over. "Headache again?"

Jamie nodded.

"Wow. That's the third one this week. Are you sure that Dr. Bader can't help you with those?"

Jamie shrugged her shoulders. "No I don't want to take anything that could harm the baby. Besides, they're not that bad. They usually go away after I rest for awhile. Some women throw up while pregnant. I just get headaches."

Sami frowned. "Okay, but I still wish you'd at least talk to the doctor about it. Maybe she can suggest some herbal remedy or something."

"That's not a bad idea. I'll ask her when I go for my ultrasound on Tuesday."

"Okay. Well take care sweetie." She reached over and enveloped Jamie in a big hug. "Get some rest and tell Jennifer good bye for me. Don't wait up for me, I have a feeling this will be a late night."

"It better be a late night for you. In fact, don't feel that you even have to come home. You could always spend the night at your handsome neighbor's apartment." Jamie winked at a momentarily stunned Sami before leaving to join Jennifer who was now standing at the door.

"Oooh, I like the way she thinks." Bonnie chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm sure Lucas would too." Sami muttered as she walked away, shaking her head the whole time.

_Hours later_

"Well thanks for throwing the party Lucas. I had a really great time." Sami stopped outside her door and smiled at him. "I'm sorry things got off to such a rocky start—."

"It's okay honey. I understand. I'm just happy you were able to move past that and enjoy yourself."

"Yeah. I really did enjoy it. Especially our dances. We'll have to do that for one of our 'dates' – maybe we could go there on a normal night?"

"I'd like that." Lucas murmured as he began lean towards her.

Sami sensed his imminent kiss and quickly darted out of the way. "Well good night then. I'll see you tomorrow night I guess?"

"Hey! Don't I at least get a kiss?" Lucas protested.

Sami bit her lip briefly before reaching up and pecking him on the cheek. "Good night Lucas."

"No real kiss?"

She laughed at his pout. "No. You won't be getting one of those until at least the third date. And since our first date isn't until tomor—."

"Our first date was the Spring Fling 11 years ago. _At the very least_ tomorrow's our second date."

"Okay fine, tomorrow will be our second date."

"You know we really should count tonight as one too. That way tomorrow will be our third—."

"Good night Lucas." Sami said firmly as she turned and quickly inserted her key in the lock. Darting inside she quickly shut the door before he could argue further and more importantly, before she allowed herself to let him win.

Lucas smirked at the closed door for a moment before taking the remaining few steps to his own apartment.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

"So I see you took at least part of my advice to heart last night. When I got up for a glass of water at 2:00 you weren't home yet. And then when I woke up this morning you were already gone." She looked directly at Sami, her eyes dancing. "You _did_ come home right? Or did you _actually_ listen to me?"

Sami laughed. "Wouldn't you like to know!"

"Sami!"

"Of course I came home Jamie. We were just really late. We stayed and helped Bonnie and Rex close up and then we took the long way home."

"And?"

"And when we finally got here he pulled into his parking stall and we just sat in his car and talked for awhile. You know, about Will and stuff."

"And did anything else happen?"

"You know, we're not 16 anymore. Do you _really_ need to know every little detail?"

"Yeah, as if you shared those details with me back then either. I seem to recall being one of the last ones to hear about you sleeping with him when we were 17."

Sami shrugged her shoulders. "Well… Hey! What's that?" She asked pointing to the small ribbon wrapped box on the countertop. "That wasn't there when I left this morning."

"Oh, that arrived sometime this afternoon. It was here when I got home from the store so I just figured you'd popped in and dropped it off."

"That's weird." Sami murmured as she walked over to it and picked it up. On closer inspection she could see a small note attached under the ribbon, but more importantly she could smell the contents of the box. "Omigod!"

"What?" Jamie asked with alarm at Sami's outburst.

"Omigod, yes he did!" Sami exclaimed as she ripped the lid off the box, revealing half a dozen Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk cookies. She recognized them immediately as Lucas' creation. Biting into one she moaned in contentment at the sinfully delicious peanut butter and chocolate combination. Lucas had always made chocolate chip cookies but after observing her nearly orgasmic reaction to peanut butter chocolate chunk ice cream one day months ago he'd decided to modify his grandmother's recipe just for her.

Eyes closed she continued to savor the tasty morsel as Jamie walked over and plucked the small note card from the hastily discarded lid. "Oh God I've missed these." He'd last made her a batch back in June just before their big blowout. Sami had hoarded those cookies, storing them in the freezer and only allowing herself one when she really needed a pickmeup. Even with her rationing she'd still run out in late-July and there'd been no way in hell that her pride would allow her to go back to Lucas and ask for more.

Jamie chuckled at her friends unbridled passion for the cookies. "Want me read the note?"

Sami nodded, happily savoring every bite.

"Sami." She began. "This is just a small taste of what's in store for us tonight. Dress for the cool evening weather. I'll pick you up at 7. Love Lucas. P.S. I know you've been dying for more cookies so I stocked your freezer with 3 dozen."

Sami let out a small shriek and flew to the refrigerator, flinging open the door to check the small freezer compartment. Sure enough there was a large plastic container containing Lucas' treats. "Oh he's so going to get kissed tonight!"

Jamie laughed. "Was there ever any doubt of that?"

Sami grinned. "Well I was going to let him suffer a bit longer, but how can I now?"

"Okay that's it, I really need to try one of these. Peanut butter and chocolate aren't really my thing but anything that causes that reaction in you must be special." Taking a small bite her eyes widened in surprise. "These _are_ good! I wonder if I could sweet talk him into making me some oatmeal raisin ones."

"Oh I'm sure you could." Sami laughed as she picked up another cookie and took a bite. "Dress for an evening outdoors? I wonder what he has planned."

"Hi there. Come in." Jamie smiled up at the young man standing in the hallway.

"Jamie is that Lucas?" Sami called as she strolled out of her bedroom clad in a pair of black jeans and a pale pink lightweight sweater. A shiny pair of black leather boots adorned her feet and her matching leather jacket was hung over a kitchen chair. "Oh hi Brady."

"Hey Sami."

Seeing Sami's questioning look Jamie explained. "Brady and I were talking last night at Alice's and I decided I wanted to get to know him better, so he's here for supper."

"Oh." She watched as her stepbrother came inside, shutting the door behind him.

"Hot date tonight Sami?" Brady's lips twitched as he took in her appearance. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, an effect that seemed to happen whenever she was around Lucas.

Sami shrugged one shoulder, feigning nonchalance. "Maybe." She was saved from having to say more by the sudden knock at the door. "Hi." She said somewhat breathlessly she opened the door to Lucas. She felt her throat suddenly go dry as her eyes feasted on him. Like her he was clad in black jeans. Jeans that hugged his toned body so well that Sami wondered if they were illegal. Licking her lips her gaze traveled upwards, especially appreciating the pale blue shirt he wore beneath his leather jacket. She'd always loved that shade of blue on him. Then again, she loved him in just about anything he wore. _Or didn't wear. Face it Sami the man is just plain delicious._

"Hi." He smiled back, equally affected by her presence. Given that he'd had this reaction virtually ever time he'd been near her in the past year and a half he wondered how the hell he'd never realized his feelings for her years ago.

"Ready?" Lucas finally managed to blurt out. His eyes remained trained on her face, specifically on her luscious lips. He noticed a few cookie crumbs and unconsciously brushed them away with his thumb.

Sami gasped at his touch, feeling a lightning jolt of excitement all the way down to the tips of her toes. Quickly she moved her hand up and covered his, reluctantly removing his fingers from her face. She held onto his hand as she swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. "Yeah. I am."

Brady and Jamie stood in the kitchen watching the pair with wry amusement. Shaking her head at the oblivious pair, Jamie finally interrupted. "So what do you have planned Lucas?"

Tearing his gaze away from Sami he answered Jamie with a grin. "It's a surprise, but I'm pretty sure Sami will tell you all the details tomorrow." He glanced at his watch. "Come on, we don't have much time before sunset."

Puzzled by what the sunset could possibly have to do with their plans Sami dropped his hand and retrieved her leather jacket. Turning to Jamie as she fastened it she said. "Since I have no idea what we're doing, I really can't say when I'll be home. Don't wait up." Glancing at her stepbrother she added. "And have a fun evening yourselves. It's good to see you here without that skanky little gold digging slut."

"Sami, that's a bit redundant." Brady called back, refusing to argue about Nicole.

"Night you two." Jamie smiled as she shut the door behind them.

Turning she raised an eyebrow at Brady. "Skanky gold digging slut?"

Brady shrugged. "I'll explain later."

"So where are we?" Sami asked for the tenth time as Lucas led her down a path to what she presumed was their destination. He'd blindfolded her as soon as they'd reached his car and to his surprise she hadn't objected.

"We're almost there; just another 50 yards or so." Lucas chuckled as he tightened his arm around her waist. He looked down the path and nodded to Ginny who was just lighting the lantern adorning their table in the gazebo. Her preparations complete, she gave him a wave before taking off in the opposite direction. Lucas made a mental note to send her a bouquet of flowers as a thank you in the morning as her help had been invaluable. Correction, he laughed to himself. He'd send her a plant. Ginny hated killing flowers by cutting them. He guided Sami down the path until finally they were standing at the foot of the steps leading up into the cozy white gazebo.

When she'd agreed to this date he'd wracked his brain trying to figure out where he could take her that would be extra special. Finally it had hit him and with Ginny's help he'd arranged for their date to take place in the park next to the planetarium. Unlike the park where they normally worked out or played catch with Will this one was on the edge of town, designed so that the outside observatory would have relatively dark skies. He'd first discovered the place a few years back when Will's scout troop had visited the planetarium. Lucas had enjoyed that trip, especially looking through the telescopes at the various star clusters and planets that had been visible that night. He couldn't wait to share that amazing experience with Sami.

"Okay honey, I'm going to untie the blindfold and on the count of three you can open your eyes." Turning her first, so that she was facing away from the gazebo he snaked his hand up and loosened the black silk scarf that he'd tied around her earlier. "One… Two… Two and a half…"

"Lucas." Sami warned.

"Three!" He laughed as her eyes popped open. She took a minute to adjust to the darkness as she slowly processed just where she was. She'd gathered from the cookies he'd sent earlier that she'd be sampling his cooking tonight and his note had mentioned dressing for the outdoors, which meant a picnic. But this wasn't Salem Park. She looked around curiously in an attempt to get her bearings. Still not exactly sure of her location she slowly turned and gasped in surprise as her eyes lit upon the gazebo. They were standing at the base of a hill. A stone path wound its way up to the wooden structure at the top. Lucas took her hand in his and slowly they mounted the hill until finally they stood at the base of the gazebo steps.

As her eyes traveled over the terrain taking in the view of Salem River Sami began to recognize just where Lucas had brought her. She hadn't been out here in years and would have sworn that the gazebo must be new.

"It is new."

Sami looked at Lucas. "How did you—."

"Know you were wondering that?" Lucas mused. At Sami's nod he explained. "I didn't know about it either until Ginny mentioned it. Apparently Salem University received a donation for park improvements last year. This has only been here a few months. Ginny volunteers at the planetarium some times…"

"And since the planetarium is right over there." She turned and pointed to the building top jutting above the trees in the opposite direction from the river. Now she knew exactly where she was. "This is great Lucas. I haven't been here since Will was little. Are we going to watch a laser show tonight?"

Lucas grinned and shook his head. "I thought of that, but when I checked all they had was a rap one. I didn't think you'd be able to _appreciate_ the artistic value of it while listening to music that I know you hate."

"You got that right." Sami muttered as she continued to survey her surroundings, saving the gazebo for last. Satisfied that she'd seen everything she turned her attention to the structure beside them.

A single red glassed lantern cast a romantic glow over the two place settings on the small round table. Several silver covered platters adorned the table and a bottle of cider sat chilling in an ice bucket off to the side. The table was set up with two chairs allowing them to see the sunset over the river as they dined.

Lucas watched her reactions carefully, feeling slightly nervous. He was certain that she'd love the setup, but with Sami you just never knew. His worries dissolved as she threw a warm glance back at him. "Well?" She smiled. "Aren't you going to escort me up there?"

"As you wish." He murmured as he took her arm and walked her up the 3 steps.

Sami fought the urge to melt on the spot at his use of the line from her favorite romantic movie. _Get a grip Sami, the date just started and you already want to jump his bones. Oh be honest with yourself, you're always ready to jump his bones._

"What's with the red lantern?" She asked curiously as she took the seat he held out for her.

"Oh according to Ginny red light is the best light to use if you want to keep your dark adaptation." At her questioning look he explained further. "I have plans for us after sunset. Trust me you'll understand then."

Sami nodded. "Okay. I'll trust you."

Lucas grinned as he reached over to grab the bottle of sparkling cider. After filling both their glasses he raised his and proposed a toast. "To your success in college. Will and I are both so proud of you."

She stopped him. "You talked to Will?"

Smirking at her interruption he told her. "I called the camp to let him know that we'll be picking him up this weekend. He asked if we'd managed to work things out so I explained that we're 'friends' and that you're starting college soon." After clearing his throat he raised his glass again. "So back to my toast. To you Sami. Will and I are both so proud of you and we know you're going to kick ass at Salem U."

Sami laughed as she touched her glass to his. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled.

They dined on the food Lucas had skillfully prepared, while they enjoyed the colorful sunset. They kept the conversation light, talking about Will and his impending return and they discussed the meeting Sami had with her advisor earlier that day. Sami told Lucas that she'd decided on business co-op program. The school was willing to give her credit for her work at Titan, considerably shortening the time she'd need to complete her degree. She'd also talked to John and there was no question that she would do the work portion of her program with Basic Black.

As he finished the last of his meal Lucas studied Sami's face causing her to grow a bit self-conscious. "What?" She finally asked him, unable to take his unwavering gaze anymore.

"Nothing." He smirked.

She arched her brow.

"You look happy Sami."

"I am." She smiled. "Dinner was delicious. It's a beautiful evening and we just watched a breathtaking sunset."

"That's not what I meant, although I'm glad you're enjoying our date."

"Oh."

"I meant that you seem so much happier than you did at the start of summer."

She arched her brow again. "Does that honestly surprise you? Let's see, at the start of summer my mother had just been killed, we broke up, you almost slept with another woman. Then your mother decided to dock my pay, then my car broke down and I couldn't afford to pay for it, which lead to another job, which meant I had virtually no free time…"

Lucas held up his hands in surrender. "Sami."

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "You've already apologized Lucas. It's okay, we're okay."

"I want to be more than okay."

She sighed. "I know you do and I guess I want that too, but it won't happen over night."

"Yeah." He hung his head. He'd never been the most patient man and now that he'd figured out everything he wanted with Sami in the future, he just didn't get why it was taking her longer. He knew for a fact that she loved him, she'd told him as much. He knew she wanted time. She made that abundantly clear on the fire escape a few weeks back, but he just wanted to get on with things. They'd wasted so much time in the past decade, time that they could have spent together.

"Hey." She leaned over and tilted his downcast face back up to her eyes. "You said you had a surprise for me after dinner."

"I do." He grinned, his momentary sadness forgotten, as he stood and held her chair for her. Taking her hand he lead them out of the gazebo down a path in the opposite direction from where they'd came. It was now completely dark, but thanks to the red lantern, their eyes were adapted to the darkness and navigating wasn't a problem.

After walking hand in hand for about ten minutes they came upon a small white shed-like building. Sami looked at it in surprise. "What is this?"

"It's the observatory. It's part of my surprise."

"I've never been here, is it new? I don't remember seeing it when I brought Will to the planetarium when he was little."

"Two or three years old I guess. Will's scout troop came here a couple years ago. I was one of the chaperones."

He kept his hand in hers as he led her into the building. Sami looked around curiously. "Lucas." She hissed.

"What?" He whispered back.

"You didn't pay."

Lucas chuckled. "Sami, sometimes the best things in life are free and this is one of those times."

"Let's see, this is free and you cooked dinner, so in a way that was free and of course the gazebo was free too. This is one cheap date you've brought me on General." She joked dryly.

Lucas feigned hurt. "Sami, Sami, Sami, don't you get it? You're far more special than anything money can buy. I wanted you to see the one thing that comes close to rivaling your beauty: the stars."

Sami rolled her eyes but couldn't help the heat that flamed her cheeks. She was thankful for the darkness as it hid her blush from him.

It was a quiet evening at the observatory allowing Lucas and Sami to spend a few hours gazing at the various wonders of the universe with the assistance of the helpful and friendly volunteer staff. Sami was awestruck at each new sight presented through the lenses of the telescopes. Spending time in Colorado growing up, she had an appreciation for the stars, but had never seen galaxies and star clusters other than as glossy pictures in magazines.

Sami was still marveling over the sights they'd seen when they finally returned to their building hours later. They came to a stop outside her door and her heart sped up. She'd promised him one kiss and she fully expected him to try for more. After the wonderful time they'd had she wanted more herself. Bracing herself against her door she waited for him to make his move.

"I had a wonderful time tonight Lucas." She said a bit breathlessly as he leaned in towards her. She closed her eyes, anticipating his kiss.

Lucas smirked at her. She'd been so adamant about the one kiss rule that one little kiss was all she was going to get. "I'm glad." He replied as he brushed his lips against hers briefly. "I had a great time too Sami. Goodnight." He pulled back and had walked no more than one step when her eyes flew open in surprise. "What the hell?"

He stopped, wiping off his smirk before facing her. "You said one kiss, so I just gave you your one kiss."

"Well I expected you to put a little more effort into it than that." She sputtered indignantly. "You know, to make the most of it."

"You're criticizing my kissing now? That's not a nice thing to do to the man who cooked you dinner and showed you the wonders of the universe." He teased.

"But that wasn't a real kiss." She protested.

"I'm sorry Sami, but you said just one kiss. You're the one who made the rule—." He was cut off by her lips as she pulled his head back down to hers and crushed her mouth against his. She took advantage of his already parted lips, darting her tongue inside. Lucas groaned in response and manoeuvred them against the wall opposite her door, never once breaking contact between their mouths.

Inside Sami's apartment, Jamie heard a noise in the hall as she wandered out of the kitchen with a glass of water. She made her way to the door and peeked through the peep hole, unsurprised to see Lucas and Sami in the middle of a passionate clinch. She smiled to herself as she made her way back to the bedroom. Things were progressing nicely, just nicely…


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-one**

"So you'll both be there tonight at 6:30 right?"

"I'll be there." Lucas answered before taking a bite of French toast. "I wish you'd tell us what your surprise is Jamie."

"Dad." Will scolded. "It wouldn't be a surprise if she told us. Right Aunt Jamie?"

"That's right." She smiled warmly at her godson. Turning to Sami she asked her friend. "What about you? You'll be there right?"

Sami nodded as she took a sip of coffee. "Of course I will. Just promise me that it's not a surprise party."

Lucas smirked. "Oh I think we're all quite aware of your feelings when it comes to that Sami."

Sami stuck her tongue out at him in response causing Jamie and Will to both laugh. Will looked back and forth between his parents, loving the gentle and loving teasing he'd witnessed in the two weeks since returning home from camp. It was a far cry from the shouting and tears he'd seen when he left them at the beginning of summer. As he looked over at his godmother he couldn't help but wonder just how much of this new found warmth was a result of her influence. He loved having Jamie here despite some initial misgivings:

"_I can't wait to get home and see my new baby brother again." Abby enthused as she and Will sat on the steps of the camp clubhouse, waiting for Lucas to arrive._

"_You're so lucky." Will replied sarcastically. "I hope you enjoyed your last full night of sleep. Babies cry all the time."_

_Abby grinned knowingly. "You're just jealous! You wish you had a little brother or sister too."_

"_Do not!"_

"_Do too!" _

_Will grumbled. "Okay, so maybe I wouldn't mind a little brother. But with my luck I'd end up with a baby sister. I'd know how to amuse a brother, but what on earth would I do with a sister?"_

"_There's nothing wrong with a baby sister!" Abby protested indignantly. "In fact I think you'd make a great big brother. You'd be so protective of her and she'd worship you."_

"_Right." Will rolled his eyes, thoroughly unconvinced. "Besides, it's not like it's going to happen anyway. My parents couldn't stand each other when I left for camp, remember?"_

"_Sexual tension." Abby smirked. "They're fighting their overwhelming attraction to each other. That's why they pick at each other all the time. They just need to give in and do it."_

_Will's eyes widened. "Do it?"_

"_You know." Abby quipped. "Do the nasty, the dirty deed, have S-E-X."_

_Will flushed. "Could you **not** put images like that in my mind? I have enough problems getting past the fact that my parents weren't much older than us when they had me. I don't need to add to that."_

_Abby laughed, hitting him playfully. Will punched back playfully and two quickly became so engrossed in their play fight that they didn't hear the crunch of gravel as two adults rounded the corner of the clubhouse._

"_Hey buddy!" _

"_Dad!" Will exclaimed happily as he escaped his cousin's clutches. He ran to into his father's outstretched arms, giving him a quick hug. Stepping back his eyes narrowed as he spotted a smiling, curly-haired woman standing behind them. Taking in her rounded belly and the unabashed affection for Lucas that was displayed on her face, he growled suspiciously. "Who are you? And why are **you** here with Dad instead of my mom?"_

"_William!" Lucas admonished. _

_Jamie laughed, having a good idea what had raised the pre-teen's hackles. "I think I understand what's going on here. I'm Jamie, your mom and dad's old friend."_

"_My godmother?" Will asked, vaguely recalling the name. He knew of her existence and according to his mom had known her when he was a baby, but couldn't recall any of those memories._

"_I am." Jamie could see the wariness on the young man's face. Not wanting to cause him any more worry she opened her arms. "Can I have a hug?"_

_Will hesitated._

"_Will." Lucas' tone invited no argument. He waited until his son moved towards Jamie before turning to face his niece. "Come here."_

_Abby beamed as she ran to him. "Hi Uncle Lucas."_

_Will tentatively returned his godmother's hug, relaxing only when he heard her whisper some words in his ear. "Really?" He questioned as he stood back, his face showing his disbelief._

"_Yes really." She chuckled as her fingers strayed to ruffle his hair. "I promise."_

_Relieved at her words, he relaxed and quickly fell into an easy conversation with her._

"So do you need me to pick you up after class today?" Lucas suggested. "We can ride together to Jamie's surprise. And I can drop you off at Salem U if you want. Saves you from paying for parking."

Sami shook her head. "Sure. But don't forget I meet my study group after class today, so I'll be tied up 'til 6."

"Oh yeah. You mentioned your group. How are things working out so far?"

Sami shrugged. "Okay, I guess. It's kind of an odd group."

"How so?" Jamie asked.

"Well I'm the only woman, for one."

"You didn't mention that when you told me about it." Lucas frowned with a touch of accusation in his voice.

Sami rolled her eyes. "No need to get all puffed up and manly there General. There's me and five other guys. Nick and Simon are both happily married and John and Andy are jailbait."

"And the other?"

Sami smirked, rather enjoying the hint of jealousy in Lucas' voice. "Oh Roger? He's a hottie."

"What!"

"Yup." She nodded her head with a deliberate slowness. "He could be a model. In fact I think his boyfriend is one."

"Oh." Lucas let out the breath he hadn't even known he was holding. "Okay. He has a boyfriend."

Sami laughed. "Apparently. I haven't met said boyfriend but Roger made it very clear to me the first time our group met."

"Will it make you mad if I admit how relieved that makes me?"

Sami beamed and reached over to plant a kiss on his cheek. "I'm not mad. I kind of enjoy it when you're jealous."

"Oh you do, do you?" Lucas murmured, turning his head to capture her lips in his, their audience momentarily forgotten.

Will rolled his eyes at his oblivious parents. Glancing at his watch he stood up and headed for the door, grabbing his backpack on the way. "Josh's mom is driving us today. I'll see you later."

Jamie grinned. "Okay, have a good time with Rex, Mimi, Philip and Ginny at the movies tonight. You have the address for afterwards right?"

"Yep." Will nodded towards his parents. "Say bye to them for me if they ever come up for air."

"Will do." Jamie chuckled as she followed him to the door, closing it softly behind him. Turning around she walked back to the kitchen area, ignoring the amorous pair still mutually engrossed at the table. Their date two weeks earlier had been a turning point in their relationship and while neither Lucas nor Sami would come right out and say it, it was quite obvious they were well on their way towards reconciliation.

Sami reluctantly pulled her lips from Lucas'. "We should… I mean I have class soon… I'll go grab my books."

Dazed, Lucas nodded. "Yeah." He licked his lips as he watched her walk away to her bedroom.

"So things are progressing nicely..." Jamie quipped dryly.

Lucas smirked. "You could say that. We're dating."

"Every other night – I've noticed. I think it's great."

"Me too—." He paused, completely distracted by Sami as she walked back into the room.

"Earth to Lucas."

"Huh?"

Jamie laughed as she watched Sami wave her hands in front of him. "I think she's ready to leave."

"What? Oh." Lucas shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Sami smirked. The fact that he'd been actively checking her out hadn't gone unnoticed. She turned and waved to Jamie. "Have fun. We'll see you tonight."

"You too." She called as she shut the door behind them. Patting her abdomen soothingly she cooed. "Well little one, things are working out the way I planned so far. Let's just hope that they go along with what I have in store for them tonight."

Lucas trudged up the steps of the old library at Salem University, glancing at his watch with annoyance. His meeting with John had gone longer than planned and then traffic had been heavier than usual, making him fifteen minutes late to meet Sami. He couldn't wait to tell her about the business proposition John had offered. It was a dream come true.

Pulling the mahogany doors open he slipped inside, scanning the foyer, fully expecting to find a pissed-off Sami tapping her foot while she waited for him. Not seeing her he shrugged his shoulders, mumbling to himself. "Maybe her group is still working." He walked further, heading for the cluster of study rooms at the back, finally seeing the back of a familiar blonde head after unsuccessfully checking four other rooms. She was sitting at a table, laughing with a tall brown haired man, a member of her study group he surmised. He opened his mouth to call out but stopped cold as he noticed the man suddenly cover his hand over Sami's. The hair on the back of his neck instantly stood on end, and he wasn't so sure it was only from jealousy. Just then the man's head turned and he locked eyes with Lucas. A deep chill seized hold of his spine. There was something about the glint of the man's grey eyes that just didn't seem right.

Following her friend's gaze Sami turned, beaming when she spotted Lucas. "Hey!" She quickly stood up. "I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me. Roger was just keeping me company."

"Hey." He said as he strolled across the room to greet her, wrapping a possessive arm around her waist as he nodded at her 'friend'. "I'm Lucas. Sami's…" He paused, wondering if she'd kill him for referring to himself as her boyfriend, but dammit, they'd been seeing each other every other night. Sure it hadn't moved past the point of passionate necking, but that would change soon enough.

"You're her son's father. She told me all about you." Roger smiled but Lucas noted that the warmth did not quite reach his eyes. Turning his head the man's gaze lingered on Sami in what he could only call a leer.

"Yes." He nodded slowly. He didn't like this guy and wanted to get Sami out of there as soon as possible. "So babe, are you all set? Jamie's expecting us."

Sami smiled. "Of course. Just let me grab my bag." She reached for her bag, silently chuckling at his unwillingness to relinquish his hold on her. "Lucas. We can't go anywhere until I get my stuff and I can't get my stuff if you won't let go."

"I'm never letting go." He growled softly, but did allow his hand to leave her waist, tracing a path across her body until he reached her arm, sliding down her supple skin to grasp her hand firmly.

Sami rolled her eyes at him but didn't comment as she grasped her belongings. "Okay, I think that's everything. We can go." She flashed a warm smile at Roger. "Thanks for the extra help. I really appreciate it."

"No problem."

Lucas tugged her hand impatiently as he practically pulled her from the room.

"Lucas!" Sami protested once they were out of Roger's earshot. "You're worse than Will was when I took him to the toy store when he was a toddler. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"We're going to be late if we don't leave right away." He muttered with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

Sami stopped cold, forcibly pulling her hand from his. "Lucas Desmond Roberts." She paused as she waited for him to turn and face her. "We're not going anywhere until you tell me what on earth is going on with you!" When he didn't say anything she glared at him irritably, crossing her arms. "Don't tell me you're jealous of Roger?" At his continued silence she prodded. "Come on! I told you about him. He's in a committed relationship with a _guy_. You have nothing to worry about. Besides, even if he weren't, the only man that turns my head anymore is _you._ Are you ever going to believe me when I say that? Or are you going to mistrust me forever."

Lucas sighed. "Sami, it's not you that I mistrust. It's him."

"What?" Her face crinkled in confusion. "Why? You just met him two minutes ago."

He shrugged. "It's just a gut feeling that I had. You've experienced that before right? That feeling of dread when you first meet someone? The feeling that you're in the presence of pure evil."

"Only with your mother." She groused.

"Sami." Lucas growled.

"Okay, okay, the feeling with your mother didn't come until _after_ she returned from the dead, but yes I guess I know what you mean."

"So you'll get rid of him from your study group right?"

"Lucas!" Sami admonished. "I can't do that!"

"Fine. You'll switch study groups then."

She shook her head adamantly. "Look, just because you have some hair-brained idea that this guy poses a threat is not enough reason for me to change groups. Besides, the professor assigned our groups. I can't change it. Or rather, I won't ask."

Lucas could tell from the stubborn turn of her lip and the determined look in her blue eyes that his request was falling on deaf ears. With a sigh he turned on his best puppy dog expression. "At least promise me that you won't be alone with him again, okay?"

"Lucas, I—"

"Please?"

"You and those damn eyes. I don't know which of you is worse, you or Will." She muttered as she gave in. "Fine. I'll make sure that one of the other guys is always in the room too. Will that make you happy?"

Lucas grinned. "Getting my way with you always makes me happy."

She rolled her eyes. "Well don't get used to it."

He leaned forward, popping a quick kiss on her freckled nose. "You say that, but you don't really mean it."

"Whatever." She reached down and took his hand again. "Let's go. I'm anxious to see what Jamie's surprise is."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-two**

Sami lifted the napkin to her face, wiping the last remnants of the chocolate mousse from her mouth. The dessert had followed the scrumptious dinner left behind for them by Jamie earlier.

"You missed a spot." Lucas murmured as he leaned forward and kissed her chin.

Sami laughed as his lips trailed up to hers, capturing her in the sweetest of kisses. Sliding her arms around his neck, she opened her mouth under his, surrendering to the delicious seduction of his tongue.

After several soul-searing kisses Lucas regretfully lifted his head, much to Sami's dismay. Whimpering, she attempted to pull him back.

Lucas resisted. "To be continued later." He murmured, kissing her nose. "Jamie wanted us to consider her proposal, and we haven't even discussed it once yet."

"What's to discuss?" Sami shook her head. "We can't possibly accept."

Lucas frowned. "Why not?"

Sami sighed. "She's just doing this because she feels sorry for us. We don't need charity. We'll get our own place eventually."

Lucas shook his head. "I don't think she's doing this out of charity. I think she genuinely wants us here."

"But why? I mean, don't get me wrong -- it's been great having her back and all, but we haven't exchanged anything more than a few polite Christmas cards in nearly a decade, and now suddenly she wants us all to be permanent roomies with her in this house?" Sami waved her arms around, motioning to the expansive area surrounding them. Jamie's little surprise had been that she bought the big house down the street from Jennifer's place and wanted Lucas, Sami and Will to move in with her. To say that they'd been surprised by her offer was putting it mildly, and knowing that they'd need some time to consider it, Jamie left them a basket of food from the Penthouse Grille while she headed off to Jennifer's for a few hours.

"Sami, Jamie lost her husband. Her father's in prison. Her sister is a drug addict on the streets. God only knows where her mother is, but after what Gloria Caldwell allowed her husband to do to Jamie and her sister, Jamie won't want her anywhere near her child. I think it's only natural that she'd seek out old friends. She'll be on her own with her baby, and she must envy the support system we both have in place. Perhaps she just wants that for her child."

"But what about Will?"

"What about Will? He adores his godmother, and I'm sure he'll adore her baby once it's born. Let's face it Sami, Will's growing up fast, and while I'm sure that you and I will be providing siblings for him, it's not like that's going to happen for at least another couple of years."

"You want to have more babies with me?"

Lucas grinned, hauling her back into his arms for a quick kiss. "Of course I do. But not until you're ready. You have college to finish, and then we can work on expanding our family. We're out of practice raising babies now, so living with Jamie is the perfect solution."

Sami laughed, "Okay, when you put it that way, I guess we have no choice but to accept. But we need to set some ground rules first."

Lucas pouted, "I hate rules. What do we need rules for?"

"Well, as you just mentioned, I'm in college and I need to concentrate on that for the next few years. That means that I don't need the added complication of our relationship."

"But—"

"I'm not saying that we can't have one, obviously we already do," Sami laughed. "But I need for us to keep taking it slow. At least until I get this school thing down pat. Okay?"

Lucas pouted, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.

"Don't do that." Sami scolded. "You know I can't resist you when you give me that face. I didn't say that we wouldn't be together Lucas! We just have to slow it down."

Lucas sighed loudly. "Alright, but just until you feel settled at school, and don't think that I won't keep wooing you during that time."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Sami quipped.

"So that means it's a yes?"

"It's a yes."

Lucas grinned as he grabbed her face with his hands and kissed her soundly. "I can't wait! And just think how Will is going to react! He's finally going to have a backyard to play in! I know he's almost a teenager, but I want to build him a big treehouse out there."

"I'm sure you'll **both** love that." Sami teased.

"And the cats! We have to bring the cats from our building; you know the tabby and tom cat."

"Do you really think you can catch them?" She asked with skepticism, recalling how many years both cats had roamed freely in their neighborhood.

"Of course! I'll just put a little bit of food out for them. There isn't a pussy in the world that can resist a big piece of—"

"Lucas!" Sami exclaimed, her cheeks reddening, at the same time they heard the front door open.

"Hello? Mom? Dad? Anyone here?"

Lucas chuckled at the flush on her face as he called out. "We're in here Will, just past the kitchen." As they waited for their son to join them he whispered in her ear. "I was going to say 'tuna'; what did you think I was going to say?"

"Never mind!" Turning to face him she added. "Bring the cats; just make sure the tom cat gets neutered first."

"Ouch!" Lucas swore softly. "Poor kitty."

"Well if they're going to be living here together, the tabby will expect him to stay. It's the only way it will work."

"Point taken."

"Hey Mom. Hey Dad." Will said as he bounced into the room. "This is a great house! Is Jamie buying it?"

"As a matter of fact I am." Jamie replied as she strolled into the room, alongside Rex & Ginny. "You guys had perfect timing. I was just coming down the street when I saw the car pull up outside."

"Hey guys." Lucas called to them. "Didn't Philip and Mimi go with you?

"Mimi wasn't feeling well and Philip said he had some other stuff to do tonight, so it was just the three of us at the movies."

"Oh, that's too bad, but you can fill them in on the details later." Jamie said happily as she glanced around the room. No dishes had been broken. Dinner, including dessert appeared to have been eaten with out incident. She hoped it bode well for their response to her proposal.

"What details?" Rex asked.

Jamie looked to Lucas and Sami for a signal. At Lucas' wink she announced, "As I just said to Will, I bought this house. It's mine as of today."

"That's wonderful! Congratulations!" Ginny moved in to give her a hug.

Jamie laughed, waiting for her to step back before continuing. "And I asked Lucas and Sami if they and Will of course, would move in with me."

"Really?" Will's face lit up as he turned to his parents, his expression one of cautious disbelief with a bit of desperation mixed in.

Sami's heart broke a little at the pleading look in his eyes. Even if her initial answer had been no, she would have changed it upon seeing him. _How could I have ever thought of denying Will the chance to live with both of us in a real home?_ She smiled reassuringly. "Yes really, and guess what, we've decided to accept."

"Woohoo!"

"That's awesome guys! I'm so happy for you all!" Ginny beamed, excited for her friends.

"Can I go pick out my room?"

"Of course you can. There are four of them upstairs, one on the main floor and a huge one in the basement. The basement one will need a little work, but it shouldn't take too long to finish it."

"Alright!" Will turned excitedly, heading for the staircase, only to be stopped by his mother's shout.

"Will wait! Jamie gets to pick hers first. It's her house, and she'll need to choose the nursery as well." Sami reminded him.

His shoulders slumped slightly with embarrassment at his mother's admonishing. "Sorry."

Jamie laughed. "It's okay. I already have mine chosen. I don't relish climbing all those stairs in my last months of pregnancy, so I'm just going to take the room on this floor. The nursery is the room that connects to the master bedroom." She looked at Sami and Lucas. "I'll let you two duke it out over who gets that one." With a wink she added, "Unless of course you want to share."

"Shouldn't we just leave that one free for you? Once you have the baby, you'll want to be close by. One of us can take the remaining room upstairs and the other can stay downstairs."

"Well the basement room won't be ready right away. It's better that both of your go upstairs." Turning away from their gazes she said, "We can always change things once the baby is born."

Sami and Lucas looked at each other and shrugged. "Okay."

"I guess that means I get the master bedroom."

"And why is that?" Sami's brow rose.

Lucas smirked. "Because moving my stuff out in a few months won't be a problem. Moving the contents of your closet would require a full moving crew."

"Hey!"

"He has a point Mom."

"Fine." Sami crossed her arms in annoyance. "You can have it. Just don't expect me to help you move your mountain of hair care products later on." She walked towards the staircase. "Come one Will, let's go battle it out for our rooms."

Ginny looked at Rex and Lucas. "Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm dying to have a look around this place."

"Yeah me too."

"Sure why not. Sami and I looked around a bit earlier, but not the whole house." He looked at Jamie expectantly. "Care to give us the tour?"

She smiled, rubbing her temple. "I think I'm just going to stay down here for awhile."

"Headache again?" Lucas asked with concern.

"The usual. I'll be fine. You guys go on." She waited until they had ascended the stairs before letting the pain she was experiencing show. Rubbing her belly with one hand and her forehead with the other, she murmured softly to her unborn child. "It's all falling into place little one… all falling into place."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-three**

"Okay, that's it. That's the final box." Brady announced as he deposited his armload against the wall in the kitchen at the same time the doorbell rang.

"Perfect timing." Sami grinned. "That should be the pizza." Nodding at Rex she said. "Can you get it since you're the closest? I left the money on the table by the door."

"Sure no problem."

"Was that the door I heard?" Lucas asked as he and Will entered the room from the opposite direction.

"Yeah. It should be the food."

"Perfect! I'm starving." Lucas grinned, smacking his lips. "I hope you ordered something for everyone else too. It's been a long moving day."

Sami laughed. "Ha-ha General. Very funny. Of course I ordered lots of food. You guys are going to need it tonight."

"What do you mean _tonight_ Sami?" Brady asked with mild alarm. "I just brought in the last box."

"Yes you did step-brother dear, but now the hard part really begins: unpacking and setting everything up!"

"You don't really expect us to do all of that do you?" Brady groaned.

Sami shrugged. "Well you don't expect Jamie to do it, do you?"

"No." Brady agreed. "Besides, she's staying with Jennifer until everything's set up here. But what about you? You're not pregnant. You can help."

"That's true." Sami bit her lip thoughtfully. "You're right. You guys did the bulk of the lifting today. It should be my turn to do the work. In fact I think I'll get started right after pizza." She smiled at Lucas. "Honey the store delivered the new home theatre and gaming system this morning, right?"

Lucas answered warily. "Yes."

"Perfect!" She quipped. "I'll get right on assembling it."

"Like hell you will!" Lucas protested as Will's eyes bulged in horror. "The last time you tried to connect anything electronic you fried the whole system."

"Dad's right Mom. You and electronics get along as well as you and Aunt Carrie."

"Hey!"

Will shrugged, indifferent to his mother's indignation. "Come on Mom. You know I'm right."

Sami frowned. Sure she'd managed to kill more than her fair share of Nintendo's and computers over the years, but it wasn't her fault that the manufacturers all made such faulty machines. As for her relationship with her sister Carrie, well it was hardly her fault that Carrie's halo had tarnished over the years. Deciding her best course of action was to move away from the topic she quickly shifted gears. "Hey, I thought Rex was getting the pizza. I wonder what's taking him so long."

"I'm here." Rex announced as he walked into the room. "The pizza just got here. Someone else was at the door first." He motioned to the man trailing behind him. "Sami, this guys says he's part of your study group?"

"Oh hi Roger!" Sami smiled warmly as grabbed the warm pizza boxes from Rex's outstretched arms. "You're just in time to join us."

"Oh I couldn't possibly…"

"I insist." Sami pressed, ignoring Lucas' indignant glare.

"Well I suppose I could stay for awhile. I just stopped by to drop off a copy of the reading list the prof posted online this morning. I knew with you moving and all, that you might not have Internet access yet."

Lucas stepped forward, placing himself between Roger and Sami. "That was very thoughtful of you, but Sami already has the list. She downloaded it using her stepfather's computer at the office this morning. You know who her stepfather is right?"

"Yes." Roger answered coolly. "Samantha has mentioned John Black, the owner of Basic Black."

"He's also an ISA agent. And her uncle is a detective with the Salem P.D. Did she mention that?"

"Lucas!" Sami admonished, tugging on his arm. She smiled up at Roger. "You'll have to excuse Lucas. Apparently the lack of food has affected his manners. Please come in and join us." She led him further into the room, stopping to point to the other occupants. "Everyone, this is Roger. He's a member of my college study group. Roger this is my step-brother Brady, my half-brother Rex and my son Will, and of course you remember my –" She paused, unsure if she was ready to define her relationship with Lucas in front of her son and her brothers. "And this is Lucas. You met him a couple of weeks ago when he picked me up."

"Of course. Nice to meet you. Samantha has mentioned you all."

"Nothing bad I hope." Brady joked, aware of the chilliness that was suddenly oozing from every pore of Lucas' body.

"Nothing but wonderful things to say about you all – especially you Will." Roger moved forward, bumping his arm against Will's shoulder playfully.

Lucas immediately moved closer to his son, putting a protective arm around his shoulder. "Will buddy. Can you do me a favor and run down the street and take your Aunt Jennifer and Jamie their pizza? We promised we'd order their dinner."

"But Dad, I'm starving." Will whined.

"Then take yours with you too. You can share it with Abby. You two are the only ones who like those toppings anyway."

"But—"

"Hey Will. I'll go with you too. I promised Jamie I'd stop by and see her anyway."

Lucas shot a grateful look at the taller man. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'll bring him back with me later."

Sami waited until Will and Brady had left before pouncing on Lucas. "Excuse me Rex, Roger. Lucas and I need to have a little chat outside. Help yourself to some pizza." With that she grabbed Lucas' arm and dragged him through the patio doors, across the deck, down onto the lawn. "Okay General. Do you want to tell me what the hell that was all about?"

Lucas was unapologetic. "Sami the guy is a creep. I told you I didn't want him hanging around you."

"And I told you that I didn't agree, but that I'd respect your wishes and not be alone with him."

"Yet you invited him in for dinner."

"Well we weren't exactly alone Lucas! You, Will, Brady and Rex were all there! I don't get what your problem is with him anyway. Or are you just jealous?"

"I'm _not_ jealous!" Lucas protested. "There's just something about him that gives me the creeps. I don't like the way he looks at you."

"You _are_ jealous!"

"I'm _not_ jealous! He leers at you, kind of like how Alan used to. And what's with the 'Samantha' bit? Every man you've known who's called you Samantha has just been trouble!"

"That's not true!" Sami scrunched her nose. "Is it?"

"Franco, Brandon and Tony ring a bell?"

Sami rolled her eyes. "You're a fine one to talk. _You_ shot Franco. _You_ married Brandon's sister, and _you_ worked for Tony DiMera."

"That's not the point! The guy is giving me serious stalker vibes Sami. Don't let yourself be alone with him. And stop encouraging him to hang around you."

"I'm not encouraging him!"

"What do you call inviting him in for dinner?"

"Don't you trust my judgment Lucas?"

"Sami, no offense, but your lack of judgment is how you ended up in the Franco and Brandon messes!"

"Both of which were made worse by _your_ interference!"

"This isn't about me Sami!"

"Bloody hell it isn't Lucas! It's all about your insecurities – your inability to trust me!" Sami shouted, uncaring that all of their neighbors could undoubtedly hear everything.

Back in the house Roger watched the couple through the glass of the patio doors. "They sure seem to argue a lot. Trouble in paradise?"

Rex studied the man, frowning. "For Lucas and Sami, fighting is foreplay."

"That's always the best kind. I bet she'd scream a lot."

"I beg your pardon?"

Roger turned around slowly and smiled. "I meant that as a joke. Samantha seems like a very passionate woman."

"She is." Rex felt an extreme uneasiness with their conversation. Something just seemed 'off' about him, especially the way he couldn't keep his eyes off Sami. "Those two look like they'll be out there awhile longer. What kind of pizza do you want?"

"Hey Rex!"

Rex jumped as he heard Ginny's voice. "Hey you made it just in time! How was the photo shoot?"

"Long and boring." Ginny quipped as she gave Rex a friendly hug. "I'm just glad it's over. I promised Sami I'd come over tonight and help, so here I am."

"Well I'm glad you're here. Lucas and Sami are outside talking. Roger and I were just about to start eating."

Ginny noticed the other man for the first time. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't even see you when I walked in. Are you a friend of the family?"

"Roger's part of Sami's study group."

"Oh?" She extended her hand to him, meeting his eyes for the first time. "I'm Ginny… Wait a minute? Have we met before?"

"I'm sure I'd remember meeting someone as beautiful as you."

Ginny bit her lip. "Are you sure? You seem so familiar for some reason."

"I'm quite sure." He took a deliberate glance at his watch. "Oh would you look at that? I'm terribly late for another engagement this evening. Please pass on my regrets to Samantha and Lucas."

Not entirely unhappy to see him leave, Rex shrugged. "Sure. No problem."

"That was weird." Ginny remarked after he left.

"Indeed."

"And I don't care what he says. I know I've seen his face before."

"There's something about him—" The slamming of the patio doors interrupted him mid-sentence.

"Where did Roger go?"

Rex looked up at his sister, seeing the fire in her bright blue eyes. "He said he had another engagement and took off. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Sami replied coldly. "Nothing except that after all this time Lucas _still_ doesn't trust me."

"Sami, he's just worried about you. Roger _is_ a little weird—"

"Oh sure. Take _his_ side. Kate's sons sure do like to stick together."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing. Look, I'm upset and I don't want to talk about it right now. So I'm just going to go join Jamie at Jennifer's for the night." She paused, finally noticing Ginny. "Thanks for coming. I'm sorry I'm not better company tonight. I'll call you tomorrow."

"No problem Sami." She watched worriedly as her friend stormed out of the house before turning to look out at Lucas who was still in the backyard, pacing angrily across the lawn. "I thought they were finally back on the right track. I hope this isn't permanent."

Rex shook his head. "You don't get that angry so easily unless you care – a lot. They'll be fine – eventually. In the meantime, strap on your seatbelt and enjoy the Lucas and Sami rollercoaster."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-four**

Lucas breathed a sigh of relief as he exited the quarterly meeting of the Horton Foundation, thankful that his long day at the hospital was nearly over. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy chairing the meetings, normally he loved them, but throughout the presentations in the meeting his mind had continually wandered to Sami, and the sad state of their current relationship. Two weeks had passed since their argument; two long painful weeks where despite sleeping in rooms down the hall from one another, they'd barely spoken more than the most basic of pleasantries.

The tension in their new home was palpable, and Lucas could see that both Jamie and Will were doing their best to avoid it. Will even went so far as to request to be able to sleep over at Abby's house indefinitely, rather than face his moody parents. Lucas felt bad for his son, and reluctantly agreed, but knew that something had to be done and soon. Jamie, in the final trimester of her pregnancy, claimed exhaustion and kept mainly to her bedroom, leaving Sami and Lucas to prowl through the cavernous house with only their blankets of hurt for warmth.

"Oh Lucas." He looked up as Mickey walked towards him. "I was hoping to catch you before you left the hospital."

"Oh?" Lucas smiled at his favorite uncle. "What can I do for you?"

"I was just on my way to inform Dr. Peters, the new Neuro-oncologist about the 3 million dollar grant that his research project received in today's meeting, but I just got a call from Bonnie. There's an emergency with the plumbing at Alice's - something about the plumber demanding payment before he'll agree to fix anything, so I have to run. I was wondering if you could stop by the Cancer Center on the fifth floor and tell Dr. Peters the good news."

"Sure. No problem." Lucas nodded. "I've been meaning to stop by and introduce myself to him since he arrived a few months ago. I read the reports about his work that the recommendation board submitted to the foundation. His research is world renowned. University Hospital was very fortunate that he decided to come here."

"Yes it was. Thanks son. I knew I could count on you." Mickey said warmly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to see what kind of mess Bonnie has gotten herself into this time."

Lucas chuckled as he pictured the buxom blonde who'd taken up residence in Mickey's life since his beloved Aunt Maggie's death a year earlier. "Good luck with that."

Thoughts of Maggie, and what she'd have to say about his relationship with Sami were weighing heavily on his mind as he stepped off the elevator on the fifth floor moments later. _You'd probably tell me to suck it up and apologize for being so jealous, wouldn't you?_ She'd be right of course, but something about Roger still bothered him, and if being at odds with Sami kept Sami more alert to that fact, it might help keep her safe when he couldn't be there to protect her.

Pushing the distracting worries from his mind, he approached nurse at the desk, grinning as he realized it was Sami's longtime nemesis, Nurse Brenda. "Hi Brenda. I didn't know you were working up on this floor now?"

Brenda grimaced. "I'm not normally, but a bunch of the staff is off sick right now so I'm rotating from place to place. I'm supposed to be down in the ER right now, but they needed someone up here to cover while Nathalie is on her break." She looked at Lucas thoughtfully. "You don't happen to know if Sami Brady needs a job, do you? I know she was let go for tampering with the records, but the new system we have now makes that pretty much impossible…"

Lucas' lips twitched, knowing how much it must be killing Brenda to even have to consider rehiring Sami. "I guess you haven't heard?"

Brenda shook he head. "Heard what?"

"Sami's a freshman at Salem U."

"You're kidding!" Brenda scoffed, and then quickly covered as she realized Lucas was serious. "I mean, that's wonderful for her. Will must be very proud of his mom."

"We _both_ are."

"So it's true then?" Brenda tried, but couldn't disguise the disbelief in her voice.

"What's true?"

"About you and Sami?"

Lucas' eyes narrowed. "What about me and Sami?"

"I hadn't heard about Salem U, but I did hear that the two of you were an item. Is it true? Are you two a couple now?"

_Good question. Two weeks ago I knew the answer to that. Now I'm not so sure._ "We're trying to be the best parents to Will that we can possibly be." He replied, refusing to betray his relationship with Sami by having it become fodder for the hospital rumor mill. Luckily Brenda received his silent 'butt out' loud and clear and returned to the subject at hand.

"So what can we do for you Lucas? You're not sick I hope?"

"No. No." Lucas shook his head and grinned. "I'm fine. I'm here to see Dr. Peters about some Horton Foundation matters. Do you know if he happens to have a few spare minutes?"

Brenda smiled politely. "Sure Lucas. He's with a patient at the moment, but I believe he has a short break after he's done with her. If you'd like to take a seat, it shouldn't be longer than 20 or 30 minutes. Or, if you'd rather return to your office, I can page you once he's free."

Lucas shrugged. "I have some paperwork that I need to go over. The waiting room is as good of place as any I guess. I'll just take a seat over there by the pillar."

"Hi Brenda, I'm back. Thanks for covering."

"No problem. Lucas Roberts is waiting to see Dr. Peters once he's done with his current patient." Hearing his name, Lucas looked up briefly, nodding at the nurse he presumed was Nathalie, before returning his attention to the medical supply contracts he'd been examining for the past 15 minutes.

"Is Dr. Peters _still_ with her?"

"He is."

"Wow. He figured it would take quite a bit of time, but I thought for sure she'd be done by the time I got back."

"So did I." Brenda agreed.

"Such a tragic case… To have it diagnosed so soon after losing her husband and with the baby on the way…"

Lucas frowned, their voices fading as they retreated to the file room just behind the reception area. He felt sorry for the woman they'd been referring to. From the tone of their conversation he knew that whatever diagnosis she'd received, hadn't been good. He let out a sigh. His work with the Horton Foundation, while very gratifying, still often left him wishing they could do more. Sure, they'd helped fund clinics like the one he was sitting in, but despite the best in medical technology and research that money could buy, there were still diseases that couldn't be cured. He lifted his hand to his temple, massaging away the headache that the numbers on the paper in front of him were causing, at the same time saying a prayer of thanks that his loved ones were all healthy, if not necessarily happy at the moment.

"Mr. Roberts?"

"Yes?" He looked up at Nathalie.

"Dr. Peters will be able to see you in about five minutes. I thought you might like the warning so you could gather your paperwork together."

"Thanks." Lucas called out before reaching for his briefcase. He heard a door open as he began stuffing the lengthy contracts back into their folder, dropping a few pages in the process.

"Oh Jamie, next week's appointment will be at 3:00 instead of 2:30 okay? Dr. Peters has a lunch meeting that day and expects to be late returning to the office."

"No problem Nathalie, I'll see you then."

Lucas, who had leaned down to grab his stray papers off the floor stopped cold. Realizing whose voice he'd just heard, he whipped his head up just in time to see Jamie depart through the main doors of the center. Before he could even think to follow her he heard his name being called again, this time by a masculine voice. He turned, bewildered.

"Mr. Roberts? Are you okay?"

He frowned, taking one last glance at the closed door, before accepting the outstretched hand of the man he assumed was Dr. Peters. "Sorry. I'm fine. Your last patient…"

"Yes?"

"Nothing… I thought I recognized her, but it couldn't have been her." He lied, realizing that the doctor-patient confidentiality would prevent the doctor from telling him anything anyway. _Besides, I have other ways of finding out if that was really her._

"Okay, so what can I do for you?"

Lucas took a deep breath, forcing a smile onto his face. "It's more like what the Horton Foundation can do for you."

Later that day found Lucas sitting alone in his office, staring in shock at the open file on his desk, having been delivered at his request, ten minutes earlier. He shook his head. He refused to believe this was happening. How on earth would he ever tell Sami? And Will? _And Jamie, poor, poor Jamie._

The phone rang, jolting him out of his stupor. He stared at it for a few rings before grabbing the receiver and barking. "Lucas Roberts here."

"Oh Lucas, I'm glad I found you. I was hoping you were still in the hospital."

"What's wrong Brenda?" He asked worriedly.

"It's Sami. She's in the ER—"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-five**

Lucas burst through the doors of Salem University's Emergency department in a panic. "Sami?" He shouted.

"She's in exam room two," Brenda called out, "But wait, Lucas, it's not—"

He tore down the hall.

Running into the room, Lucas let out a sigh of relief as he spotted Sami and Ginny standing next to the doctor, who was evidently examining his patient.

"Lucas!" Sami was surprised. "How did you know Rex was here?"

"Rex?" The doctor moved to the side, allowing Lucas to see his injured half-brother. Oh my god, what does the other guy look like?"

"Worse." Ginny replied with a grin. "Much worse."

"Who?"

"Roger." Sami sighed. "You were right Lucas."

"What?"

"About Roger being a creep." Ginny supplied helpfully. "I was over in Ogden doing a photo shoot at the farmer's market and I saw a wanted poster on the community bulletin board. The guy on the poster was Roger and he's their alleged campus rapist. I tried calling Sami to give her a heads up but her phone was off, so I called Rex. He was on campus and headed straight for the old library."

"Rex got to me just in time. My study group was meeting, or at least I thought they were meeting. When I got to our reserved room, Roger was the only one there. I tried to make an excuse and leave, but he slammed the door shut and locked it and then blocked me. He also grabbed my cellphone and ripped out the battery." Sami explained.

"Did he touch you?" Lucas asked, fearing her response.

"That's about when I got there." Rex interjected.

Sami sighed. "Rex broke down the door just as Roger was pushing me up against the wall."

"And then he beat the crap out of that creep." Ginny smiled proudly as she stroked the hair that had fallen over Rex's bruised face.

"So where's Roger now? In the morgue I hope?" _Cause if he isn't there, I'm going to put him there._

Reading his thoughts, Sami put her hand on Lucas' arm. "It's okay Lucas. Ginny's next call after Rex was to my Uncle Bo. Roger's in custody or he will be once he's released from the hospital. He's in an exam room down the other hall with a 24/7 police guard."

"Oh my god Sami..." Lucas pulled her into her arms, hugging her tightly. "If that asshole had done anything to hurt you… I don't know what I would have done."

Sami snugged against him. "I know. And I'm sorry. I should have trusted your gut instinct."

"Yeah, you should have." Lucas agreed. He looked over at Rex. "Thank you. Are you okay?"

"Well nobody will be asking him to model anytime soon, but the damage is mainly superficial. He's lucky. The doctor wants to admit him overnight for observation because he has a mild concussion, but he should be able to go home tomorrow." Ginny smiled.

"You're all lucky."

"Uncle Bo!"

"Hi Sami." Bo smiled fondly. "You'll be happy to know that EJ Rogers is facing a whole slew of charges. He's a suspected serial rapist and the ISA wants to cross reference his DNA. They suspect that he might be a serial killer and an international organ seller as well."

"EJ?" Sami asked. "I thought his name was Roger. And organ seller?"

"It's an alias." Bo explained. "His real name is Eldon Jerome Rogers, EJ for short. He's wanted in Ogden and possibly in Chicago, New York, Washington, Toronto, Paris and London as well. Basically we don't know just how many crimes this psycho has committed, rape for sure, and possibly killing people and selling their organs for transplant on the black market too. Trust me; it looks like you got off easy. You're a very lucky young lady."

Sami shivered in Lucas' arms. "I can't believe it. Wasn't Alan Harris being in my life enough?"

"It's okay." Lucas soothed. "You're safe. I'm here."

"Sami, I'm going to need you to come down to the station and make a statement, today if possible." Bo said.

"No problem."

"And Rex, if you're up to it, I'll take yours right now."

"Sure. Is it okay if Ginny stays?"

"No problem, assuming that's okay with the doctor?"

"It's fine. I'll come and check on you in an hour Rex."

"Thanks."

"We should go too. I'll drive you to the police station Sami. Rex, you relax and thank you again. And thank you Ginny for being so observant."

"Thanks Lucas." Sami said turned back to her brother. "And thank you little brother, for being my hero today."

"Anytime Sami."

* * *

"Well that was exhausting." Sami complained as she tossed her bag onto the kitchen island.

"Exhausting but necessary." Lucas agreed. "I hope they throw the book at that psychopath. Can you believe some of the stuff that the ISA thinks he's done? Kidnapping pregnant women and stealing their embryos, gassing people til they're brain dead and then stealing their organs to sell on the black market in China? Randomly switching eggs for couples undergoing invitro-fertilization. It's insane."

"And don't forget the rapes. I guess he did that on the side, for fun."

"He's one sick puppy. I'm glad he's out of my life. Bo doesn't think I'll have to testify or anything because there's so many bigger crimes that he's on the hook for. It's not likely that they'll bother with charges for today."

"Good. That means you can put this behind you as a lesson learned about me always being right."

Sami chuckled. "Sure General. I'll listen from now on when you have bad feelings about potentially evil study mates, but in no way, shape or form does this make you right about everything."

"Oh really?" Lucas laughed.

"Yes really. Jennifer and Jamie will back me up on that one."

"Oh my god, Sami." Lucas' heart sank as he remembered the news he'd learned just before getting the call from Brenda. "Jamie."

"What about her? "

"Sami we have to talk."

Sami heard the seriousness in his tone. "What is it Lucas? What's wrong."

"Not here. Upstairs in my room."

Sami raised a brow.

Lucas shook his head. "Or your room. Doesn't matter. Just not here. Not where anyone can hear."

"Now you're scaring me."

* * *

"Okay General, I checked her room. Jamie's napping. Now spill." Sami said as she closed the door of the master suite.

"You need to sit down."

"What? Why?"

"I read Jamie's medical file today."

"What? Lucas what the hell were you thinking? That's private."

Lucas arched a brow. "Really Sami? You, of all people, are going to lecture me about reading private medical files?"

"I don't do that kind of stuff anymore!"

"Right." Lucas was unconvinced.

"I don't." Sami frowned. "But whatever, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with the baby? Oh my god, don't tell me there is. That baby is the only thing Jamie has left of her husband. Please don't tell me its life is in danger."

"It's not the baby. It's Jamie."

"What do you mean?

"The Horton Foundation is giving a big research grant to a neuro-oncologist at the hospital. Mickey asked me to stop by the cancer clinic and let Dr. Peters know. While I was there, I overheard Brenda and another nurse talking about a tragic case. Then I saw who the patient was. It was Jamie. Just to be sure I pulled a few strings and had Jamie's file brought to my office later. I read it. It's her. She has a brain tumor and it's cancerous."

"Oh no! It can't be true! But wait, she's seeing the specialist, so there must be a treatment, right?"

"According to her file, she refused treatment because of her baby. She didn't want to risk its life."

As a mother, Sami could understand why Jamie wanted to protect her child at all costs, but it was anything but fair. She'd already lost her husband so tragically. Now she was in danger of losing her own life? "There's got to be something that can be done. Surely there's a treatment available that won't risk the baby."

"According to what I read in her file, surgery is an option, but she won't consider it until she's had the baby, and by then it'll likely be too late. The tumor is growing."

"But can't she deliver the baby early?"

The door to the master suite suddenly swung open. Jamie stood there, shaking her head. "No. I don't want to put my baby at risk."

"Jamie! We were just—"

"Save it Sami. I heard you two discussing me."

"But we shut the door."

Jamie rolled her eyes. "It's Salem. Magical acoustics, remember? I heard you check in on me and followed you up here a minute later."

"Is what Lucas told me true Jamie? Do you have brain cancer?"

Jamie nodded, taking a deep before answering. "Yes, I do. And it's terminal." Sami choked on a sob as her friend continued. "That's why I came here to Salem, to you two. I have no one else to turn to. I need for my baby to have a good life. A safe life with people I trust – two parents who will love her or him, but I think her, as their own. I want you two to raise my baby after I'm gone."


End file.
